THE  BIRTH  OFTHE  REPUBL 


DAN/EL  R.  GooDLoi 


LIBRARY 

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Accession  Dumber 

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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

LIBRARY 

COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 
DAVIS,  CALIFORNIA 


THE 

BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 


COMPILED   FKOM  THE 


National  and  Colonial  Histories  and  Historical  Collections, 

from  the  American  Archives  and  from  Memoirs, 

and  from  the  Journals  and  Proceedings 

of  the  British  Parliament 


DANIEL   E.  GOODLOE 


CONTAINING 

THE  RESOLUTIONS,  DECLARATIONS,  AND  ADDRESSES  ADOPTED  BY  THE  CONTINENTAL 

CONGRESS,  THE  PROVINCIAL  CONGRESSES,  CONVENTIONS  AND  ASSEMBLIES, 

OF  THE  COUNTY  AND  TOWN  MEETINGS,  AND  THE  COMMITTEES  OF 

SAFETY,  IN  ALL  THE  COLONIES,  FROM  THE  YEAR  1765  TO  1776 


TO  WHICH  IS  ADDED 

THE  ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION,  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  FORMATION  AND  ADOPTION 
OF  THE  CONSTITUTION,  THE  ELECTION  OF  PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON,  HIS 
INAUGURATION,  APRIL,  30,  171 

AND  WASHINGTON'S 


1789,   A   COPY  OF  THE  CpN.SjTITlJTI.ONv  . 

ON'S  INAUGURAL  §P£E^A£  „  j.  »  ^  '»., 


£QRF>,  AND  SAN  FRANCISCO 
BELFG&iv  OlARkE-AND   COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

LIBRARY 


Copyright,  1889, 

BY 

DANIEL  R.  GOODLOE. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THAT  the  American  Colonies  were  destined  to  become  in- 
dependent  of  Great  Britain,  and  that  the  occurrence  of  the 
event  was  only  a  question  of  time,  was  foreseen  nearly  a 
century  before  it  came  to  pass.  Lord  Mansfield,  in  his 
speech  in  the  House  of  Lords,  on  the  Duke  of  Grafton's  mo 
tion  for  an  address  to  the  King,  November  15,  1775,  makes 
this  fact  clear  by  the  following  statement,  which  at  the 
same  time  exhibits  the  shop-keeping  narrowness  and  illibe- 
rality  of  his  own  mind.  He  says : 

"The  bad  consequences  of  planting  Northern  Colonies 
were  early  predicted.  Sir  Josiah  Child  foretold,  before  the 
Revolution  [the  English  Revolution  of  1688-'89],  that  they 
would,  in  the  end,  prove  our  rivals  in  power,  commerce,  and 
manufactures.  Davenant,  adopting  the  same  ideas,  foresaw 
what  has  since  happened :  he  foresaw  that,  whenever  Amer 
ica  found  herself  of  sufficient  strength  to  contend  with  the 
mother-country,  she  would  endeavor  to  form  herself  into 
a  separate  and  independent  State.  This  has  been  the  con 
stant  object  of  New  England  almost  from  her  earliest  in 
fancy.  Their  struggles  in  the  reign  of  King  William  com 
pelled  that  Prince  to  recall  their  former  charter  and  give 
them  a  new  one,  and,  towards  the  conclusion  of  his  reigpn, 
to  get  an  act  passed  that  no  law  enacted  in  the  Colonies 
should  be  valid,  if  contrary  to  any  law  at  the  time  ex 
isting  in  England.  Those  disputes  scarce  subsided  from 
that  day  to  this.  I  remember,  in  1733,  Mr.  Talbot  (after 
wards  counsellor)  proposed  a  set  of  Resolutions,  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  in  which  the  nature  of  the  disputes 
then  subsisting  were  directly  pointed  at,  and  similar  doc 
trines  to  those  maintained  at  present  by  the  British  Parlia 
ment  fully  asserted." 

This  citation  from  the  speech  of  Lord  Mansfield  demon 
strates  the 'truth  that  a  man  may  be  a  great  lawyer,  and  at 
the  same  time  be  a  very  narrow-minded  statesman — that  he 
may  be  profoundly  learned  in  the  laws,  and  be  pre-eminently 
fitted  to  expound  them,  without  having  the  slightest  qualifi 
cation  to  make  laws.  Here,  to  the  westward  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  lay  a  continent  all  untilled,  and  almost  unpeopled. 
Lord  Mansfield  would  have  suffered  it  to  remain  in  a  state 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

of  perpetual  barbarism,  and  have  doomed  his  countrymen 
at  home  for  all  time  to  all  the  inconveniences  of  an  over 
crowded,  starving  condition,  for  fear  that  at  some  remote 
day  the  colonists  of  the  New  World  might  assert  their  inde 
pendence  and  become  the  commercial  and  manufacturing 
rivals  of  Great  Britain.  His  legal  lore  and  training  failed  to 
convey  to  his  mind  the  thought  that  the  growth  of  the 
Colonies  in  wealth  and  population,  and  the  development  of 
commerce  and  manufactures  among  them,  must  redound  to 
the  advantage  of  the  mother-country.  And  beyond  the  con 
sideration  of  profit  to  Great  Britain,  he  seems  never  to  have 
permitted  his  wandering  thoughts  to  stray;  but,  with  the 
genuine  shop-keeping  dread  of  competition,  he  would  have 
suffered  half  the  earth  to  go  unpeopled  lest  he  might  inad 
vertently  raise  up  a  commercial  rival  to  his  own  little  island. 
In  the  same  speech,  his  lordship  goes  on  to  say : 
"  I  do  not  think  that  America  complains  of  particular  in 
juries,  so  much  as  she  does  of  the  violation  of  her  rights. 
If  I  do  not  mistake,  in  one  place  the  Congress  sum  up  the 
whole  of  their  grievances  in  the.  passage  of  the  Declaratory 
Act,  which  asserts  the  supremacy  of  Great  Britain,  or  the 
power  of  making  laws  for  America  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 
This  is  the  true  bone  of  contention.  They  positively  deny 
the  right,  not  the  mode  of  exercising  it.  They  would  allow 
the  King  of  Great  Britain  a  nominal  sovereignty  over  them, 
but  nothing  else.  They  would  throw  off  the  dependency  on 
the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  but  not  on  the  person  of  the 
King,  whom  they  would  render  a  cipher.  In  fine,  they 
would  stand  in  relation  to  Great  Britain  as  Hanover  now 
stands,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  as  Scotland  stood  to 
wards  England  previous  to  the  treaty  of  Union.  His  lord 
ship  then  went  into  a  variety  of  detailed  reasonings  to 
show  that  the  views  of  America  were  directed  to  inde 
pendence  ;  that  Great  Britain  could  not  concede  without  re- 
ling  uishing  the  whole,  which  he  supposed  was  not  intended; 
and  that,  consequently,  any  measure  of  conciliation,  in  the 
present  situation  of  affairs  and  the  declared  intentions  of 
America,  would  answer  no  end  but  furnishing  her  with 
grounds  to  erect  new  claims  on,  or  to  hold  out  terms  of 
pretended  obedience  and  submission." 

It  is  not  true,  as  stated  by  Lord  Mansfield,  that  America 
aimed  at  independence;  and  of  the  contrary  truth  an 
abundance  of  evidence  is  furnished  in  this  compilation. 
That  the  tendency  of  events  was  necessarily  towards  inde 
pendence,  will  be  conceded:  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
question  arises  as  to  which  party  was  giving  the  greatest 
momentum  to  that  tendency ;  and  the  answer  to  the  ques 
tion  will  depend  upon  the  bias  of  the  mind.  To  all  men 
who  sympathize  with  our  ancestors  in  their  struggle  for 
liberty  and  independence,  it  is  clear  that  the  short  sighted 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

selfishness  and  arbitrary  pride  of  spirit  of  the  British  Tories 
precipitated  the  war,  and  made  a  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence  a  necessary  measure  of  defence.  To  the  man  of  Tory 
sympathies,  it  is  equally  clear  that  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  was  premeditated  and  planned  by  ambitious  dema 
gogues,  who  took  that  method  of  getting  the  control  of 
affairs  into  their  own  hands. 

But  the  objection  to  this  latter  statement  is  that  the  haz 
ards  were  too  great  to  be  encountered  by  demagogues,  for 
the  sake  of  office.  Demagogues,  by  their  very  .nature,  as 
the  term  implies,  are  a  pliant,  accommodating  race ;  and  are 
prone  to  yield  to  circumstances,  rather  than  conquer  them. 
It  has  been  well  said  that  the  same  elements  of  character 
which  constitute  the  demagogues  in  a  popular  government 
enter  into  and  make  up  the  courtier  under  a  monarchy.  The 
men  who  led  our  armies  to  victory  during  the  Revolution, 
and  who  framed  our  free  constitutions  and  laws,  were,  many 
of  them,  foremost  in  the  esteem  of  the  rulers  of  Great  Britain 
before  they  thought  of  resistance.  All  the  older  officers  of 
the  army  had  served  with  honor  under  the  King,  and  their 
names  were  held  in  high  respect  at  court.  Franklin  was 
Postmaster-general  of  the  Colonies;  and  hundreds  besides 
him  were  in  high  favor  as  civilians.  They  had  therefore  no 
occasion  to  revolt  and  set  up  a  new  form  of  government  in 
order  to  secure  the  offices.  By  their  heroic  self-sacrifice,  by 
their  courage  and  perseverance  in  what  for  years  seemed 
an  almost  hopeless  enterprise,  and  by  the  wisdom  displayed 
on  the  tented  field  and  in  the  council,  they  gained,  among 
friends  and  foes  the  world  over,  the  highest  reputation  for 
virtue.  The  idea  of  such  men  being  actuated  by  a  low  ambi 
tion  to  secure  places  for  themselves  is  therefore  simply  pre 
posterous. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  government  of  Great  Brit 
ain  practised  great  injustice  towards  the  Colonists  by  send 
ing  over  profligate  younger  sons  and  the  abandoned  min 
ions  of  the  courtiers  to  fill  the  high  offices ;  but  bad  as  this 
system  was,  it  was  not  the  direct  cause  of  the  Revolution. 
It  certainly  tended  to  produce  revolt,  bv  interposing, 
between  the  mother -country  and  the  Colonies,  a  class  of 
pimps  and  spies,  whose  policy  it  was  to  make  themselves 
acceptable  at  home  by  misrepresenting  the  state  of  things  in 
America,  and  by  favoring  every  arbitrary  measure  of  min 
istry.  But  it  was  those  arbitrary  measures  that  produced 
the  rupture ;  and  not  the  unworthy  instruments  of  admin 
istration. 

America  made  a  successful  rebellion  at  a  time  when  the 
population  was  not  above  three  millions.  How  idle  the  no 
tion,  then,  that  Great  Britain  could  continue  long  to  rule 
these  colonies,  inhabited  by  a  free,  energetic  race  which 
doubles  in  number  four  times  in  a  century ! 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  STAMP  ACT— THE  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS  OP  1765. 

THE  following  account  of  the  Continental  Convention  of 
1765,  which  met  in  New  York,  is  from  the  fifth  volume  of 
"Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States:" 

"  On  Monday,  the  7th  of  October,  delegates  chosen  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island, 
Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  South  Carolina ; 
delegates  named  by  a  written  requisition  from  the  individual 
representatives  of  Delaware  and  New  Jersey ;  and  the  legis 
lative  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  New  York, — met  at 
New  York  in  Congress.  New  Hampshire,  though  not  present 
by  deputy,  yet  agreed  to  abide  by  the  result ;  and  they  were 
gladdened  during  this  session  by  the  arrival  of  the  express- 
messenger  from  Georgia,  sent  near  a  thousand  miles  by 
land,  to  obtain  a  copy  of  their  proceedings." 

It  is  proper  to  explain,  in  this  place,  that  North  Carolina 
was  not  represented  in  this  general  congress  of  the  Colonies, 
for  the  reason  that  the  Assembly  was  not  in  session  at  any 
time  after  the  proposition  of  Massachusetts  to  call  such  a 
body.  Rumors  having  reached  the  province  in  the  spring, 
that  the  Stamp  Act  bad  been  passed  by  Parliament  and  ap 
proved  by  the  King,  the  same  spirit  of  opposition  to  its  en 
forcement  was  manifested  in  all  the  principal  towns  of  North 
Carolina  that  had  been  exhibited  in  the  northern  Colonies ; 
and  this  caused  the  Lieutenant-governor,  Tryon,  to  prorogue 
the  Assembly  from  May  until  November,  lest  that  body  might 
give  expression  to  the  popular  feeling,  as  it  undoubtedly 
would  have  done.  See  "Martin's  History  of  North  Caro 
lina,"  vol.  2,  pages  193  and  195. 

Mr.  Bancroft  continues : 

•"  The  members  of  this  first  union  of  the  American  people 
were  elected  by  the  representatives  of  the  people  of  each 
separate  Colony.  While  they  formed  one  body,  their  power 
was  derived  from  independent  sources.  Each  of  the  Colonies 


8  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

existed  in  its  individuality ;  and  notwithstanding  great  differ 
ences  in  their  respective  population  and  extent  of  territory, 
as  they  met  in  Congress  they  recognized  each  other  as 
equals,"  without  the  least  claim  of  pre-eminence,  one  over 
the  other. 

''The  Congress  entered  directly  on  the  consideration  of 
the  safest  groundwork  on  which  to  vest  the  collective  Amer 
ican  liberties.  Should  they  build  on  charters,  or  on  material 
justice  ?  on  precedents  and  fact  or  abstract  truth  ?  on  special 
privileges  or  universal  reason  ?  Otis  was  instructed  by  Bos 
ton  to  support,  not  only  the  liberty  of  the  Colonies,  but  also 
chartered  rights.  Johnson,  of  Connecticut,  submitted  a 
paper,  which  pleaded  charters  from  the  Crown,  but  Robert 
R.  Livingston,  of  New  York,  '  the  goodness  of  whose  heart 
set  him  above  prejudices,  and  equally  comprehended  all 
mankind,'  would  not  place  the  hope  of  America  on  that 
foundation;  and  Gadsden,  of  South  Carolina,  giving  utter 
ance  to  the  warm  impulses  of  a  brave  and  noble  nature, 
spoke  against  it  with  irresistible  impetuosity.  k  A  confirma 
tion  of  our  essential  and  common  rights  as  Englishmen,7 
thus  he  himself  reports  his  sentiments,  'may  be  pleaded 
from  charters  safely  enough;  but  any  further  dependence 
upon  them  may  be  fatal.  We  should  stand  upon  the  broad 
common  ground  of  those  natural  rights  that  we  all  feel  and 
know  as  men,  and  as  descendants  of  Englishmen.  I  wish  the 
charters  may  not  ensnare  us  at  last,  by  drawing  different 
Colonies  to  act  differently  in  this  cause.  Whenever  that  is 
the  case,  all  will  be  over  with  the  whole.  There  ought  to 
be  no  New  England  man,  no  New  Yorker,  known  on  the 
continent,  but  all  of  us  Americans.' 

"These  views  prevailed;  and  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Congress,  the  argument  for  American  liberty  from  royal 
grants  was  avoided.  This  is  the  first  great  step  toward  in 
dependence.  Dummer  had  pleaded  for  Colony  charters; 
Livingston,  Gadsden,  and  the  Congress  of  1765  provided  for 
American's  self -existence  and  union  by  claiming  rights  that 
preceded  charters,  and  would  survive  their  views. 

"  And  how  far  would  that  Union  extend  ?  What  nations 
would  be  included  in  the  name  of  Americans  ?  The  mem 
bers  of  that  Congress  believed  themselves  responsible  for  the 
liberties  of  the  continent ;  and  even  while  they  were  delib 
erating,  the  vast  prairies  of  Illinois,  the  great  eastern  valley 
of  the  Mississippi,  with  all  its  rivers  gushing  from  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  with  all  its  boundless  primeval  forests  spreading 
from  the  mountain  tops  to  the  alluvial  margin  of  the  mighty 
stream,  with  all  its  solitudes,  in  which  futurity  would  sum 
mon  the  eager  millions  of  so  many  tongues  to  build  happy 
homes,  passed  from  the  sway  of  France  into  the  temporary 
custody  of  England. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  9 

"The  conduct  of  America  was  regulated  by  the  Congress 
at  New  York.  Those  who  compose  it,  said  Gage,  are  of 
various  characters  and  opinions ;  but  in  general,  the  spirit 
of  democracy  is  strong  among  them,  supporting  the  inde 
pendence  of  the  provinces  as  not  subject  to  the  legislative 
power  of  Great  Britain.  The  question  is  not  of  the  inexpe 
diency  of  the  Stamp  Act,  but  that  it  is  unconstitutional, 
and  contrary  to  their  rights."  No  Colony  was  better  repre 
sented  than  South  Carolina.  Her  delegation  gave  a  chief  or 
two  of  the  three  great  committees,  and  in  all  that  was  done 
well,  her  mind  visibly  appeared. 

"The  difficult  task  of  defining  the  rights  and  'setting 
forth  the  liberty'  which  America  'ought  to  enjoy,'  led  the 
Assembly  to  debate  for  two  weeks  on  '  liberty,  privileges, 
and  prerogative.'  In  these  debates,  Otis,  of  Boston,  himself 
the  father  of  the  Congress,  displayed  great  knowledge  of  the 
interests  of  America,  and  assisted  to  kindle  the  fires  which 
afterwards  lighted  the  country  on  to  freedom. 

"It  was  proposed  to  '  insist  upon  a  repeal  of  all  acts  laying 
duties  on  trade,  as  well  as  the  Stamp  Act.'  '  If  we  do  not 
make  an  explicit  acknowledgment  of  the  power  of  Britain 
to  regulate  our  trade,' said  the  too  gentle  Livingston,  'she 
will  never  give  up  the  point  of  internal  taxation.'  But  he 
was  combatted  with  great  heat,  till  at  last  the  Congress,  by 
the  hand  of  Rutledge,  of  South  Carolina,  erased  from  the 
declaration  of  rights  the  unguarded  concession;  and  the 
restrictions  on  American  commerce,  though  practically 
acquiesced  in,  were  enumerated  as  grievances. 

Still  Gadsden  and  Lynch  were  not  satisfied.  With  vig 
orous  dialectics,  they  proceeded,  from  a  denial  of  the  power 
of  Parliament  in  America,  to  deny  the  propriety  of  approach 
ing  either  House  with  a  petition.  *  The  House  of  Commons,' 
reasoned  Gadsden,  with  the  persevering  earnestness  of  con 
viction,  *  refused  to  receive  the  addresses  of  the  Colonies 
when  the  matter  was  pending;  besides,  we  neither  hold  our 
rights  from  them  nor  from  the  Lords.'  But  yielding  to  the 
majority,  Gadsden  suppressed  his  opposition;  *  for,'  said  he, 
'union  is  most  certainly  all  in  all.' 

"The  carefully  considered  documents  in  which  the  Con 
gress  embodied  the  demands  of  America,  dwell  mainly  on 
the  inherent  right  to  trial  by  jury,  in  opposition  to  the  ex 
tension  of  the  admiralty  jurisdiction,  and  the  right  to  free 
dom  from  taxation,  except  through  the  respective  Colonial 
legislatures.  These  were  promulgated  in  the  Declaratory 
Resolutions,  with  the  further  assertion  that  the  people  of 
the  Colonies  not  only  are  not,  but,  from  their  local  circum 
stances,  never  can  be,  represented  in  the  House  of  Commons 
in  Great  Britain ;  that  taxes  never  have  been,  nor  never  can 
be,  constitutionally  imposed  on  the  Colonies  but  by  their 
respective  legislatures ;  that  all  supplies  to  the  Crown  are 


10  THE  BIRTH  Of1  THE  REPUBLIC. 

free  gifts ;  and  that  for  the  people  of  Great  Britain  to  grant 
the  property  of  the  Colonists  was  neither  reasonable  nor 
consistent  with  the  principles,  nor  with  the  spirit,  of  the 
British  Constitution.  The  same  immunities  were  claimed  in 
the  Address  to  the  King,  as  '  essential  principles,  inherent 
rights  and  liberties,'  of  which  the  security  was  necessary  to 
the  *  most  effectual  connection  of  America  with  the  British 
empire.'  They  also  formed  the  theme  of  the  Memorial  to 
the  House  of  Lords,  mingled  with  complaints  of  the  '  late 
restrictions  on  trade.' 

"Having  thus  insisted  on  their  rights  in  strong  terms,  the 
Congress  purposely  employed  a  different  style  in  the  address 
to  the  House  of  Commons,  insisting  chiefly  on  the  disadvan 
tages  the  new  measure  might  occasion,  as  well  to  the  mother- 
country  as  to  the  Colonies.  They  disclaimed  for  America 
the  *  impracticable'  idea  of  representation  in  any  but  Ameri 
can  legislatures.  Acknowledging  '  all  due  subordination  to 
the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,'  and  extolling  the  '  English 
Constitution  as  the  most  perfect  form  of  government,'  the 
source  of  'all  their  civil  and  religious  liberties,'  they  argued 
that,  in  reason  and  sound  policy,  there  exists  a  material  dis 
tinction  between  the  exercise  of  a  Parliamentary  jurisdiction 
in  general  acts  of  legislation  for  the  amendment  of  the  com 
mon  law  or  the  regulation  of  trade  through  the  whole  em 
pire,  and  the  exercise  of  that  jurisdiction  by  imposing  taxes 
on  the  Colonies  from  which  they  therefore  entreated  to  be 
relieved. 

"  While  the  Congress  were  still  anxiously  engaged  inweigh- 
ing  each  word  and  phrase  they  were  to  adopt,  it  was  rumored 
that  a  ship  laden  with  stamps  had  arrived.  .  .  . 

"On  the  morning  of  the  25th  [October],  the  anniversary 
of  the  accession  of  George  III.,  the  Congress  assembled  for 
the  last  time,  and  the  delegates  of  six  Colonies,  being  empow 
ered  to  do  so, — namely,  all  the  delegates  from  Massachusetts, 
except  Ruggles ;  all  from  New  Jersey,  except  Ogden ;  all  those 
of  Rhode  Island;  all  of  Pennsylvania,  excepting  Dickinson, 
who  was  absent,  but  adhered ;  all  of  Delaware ;  and  all  of 
Maryland ;  with  the  virtual  assent  of  New  Hampshire,  Con 
necticut,  New  York,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia, — set  their 
hands  to  the  papers,  by  which  the  Colonies  became,  as  they 
expressed  it,  ^a  bundle  of  sticks,  which  could  neither  be  bent 
nor  broken.'" 

To  the  foregoing  general  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Congress,  given  by  Mr.  Bancroft,  it  is  deemed  proper  to  an 
nex  the  following  Declaration  of  Rights,  which  may  be  found 
in  "  Burke's  History  of  Virginia:" 


THE  BIHTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  11 


DECLARATION  OF  RIGHTS. 

"THE  members  of  this  Congress,  sincerely  devoted  with 
the  warmest  sentiments  of  affection  and  duty  to  his  Majesty's 
person  and  government,  inviolably  attached  to  the  present 
establishment  of  the  Protestant  succession,  and  with  minds 
deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  present  and  impending 
misfortunes  of  the  British  Colonies  on  this  continent,  having 
considered  as  maturely  as  time  will  permit  the  circumstan 
ces  of  said  Colonies,  esteem  it  our  indispensable  duty  to 
make  the  following  declarations  of  our  humble  opinion  re 
specting  the  most  essential  rights  and  liberties  of  the  Colo 
nists  and  of  the  grievances  under  which  they  labor  by  reason 
of  several  late  acts  of  Parliament : 

"  I.  That  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  these  Colonies  owe  the 
same  allegiance  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  that  is  owing 
from  his  subjects  born  within  the  realm,  and  all  due  sub 
ordination  to  that  august  body,  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain. 

"II.  That  his  Majestys'  liege  subjects  in  these  C9lonies  are 
entitled  to  all  the  inherent  rights  and  liberties  of  his  natural- 
born  subjects  within  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain. 

"  III.  That  it  is  inseparably  essential  to  the  freedom  of  a 
people,  and  the  undoubted  right  of  Englishmen,  that  no 
taxes  be  imposed  on  them  but  with  their  own  consent,  given 
personally  or  by  their  representatives. 

"  IV.  That  the  people  of  these  Colonies  are  not,  and,  from 
their  local  circumstances,  cannot  be,  represented  in  the 
House  of  Commons  of  Great  Britain. 

' '  V.  That  the  only  representatives  of  the  people  of  these 
Colonies  are  persons  chosen  therein  by  themselves,  and 
that  no  taxes  ever  have  be,en,  or  can  be  constitutionally  im 
posed  on  them  but  by  their  own  respective  legislatures. 

1 '  VI.  That  all  supplies  to  the  Crown,  being  Free  gifts  of  the 
people,  it  is  unreasonable  and  inconsistent  with  the  princi 
ples  and  spirit  of  the  British  Constitution  for  the  people  of 
Great  Britain  to  grant  to  his  Majesty  the  property  of  the 
Colonists. 

"VII.  That  trial  by  jury  is  the  inherent  and  invaluable 
right  of  every  British  subject  in  these  Colonies. 

"VIII.  That  the  late  act  of  Parliament  entitled  "An  act 
for  granting  and  applying  certain  stamp  duties,  and  other 
duties,  in  the  British  Colonies  and  Plantations,  in  America," 
etc.,  by  imposing  taxes  on  the  inhabitants  of  these  Colonies, 
and  the  said  act,  and  several  other  acts,  by  extending  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Courts  of  Admiralty  beyond  its  ancient 
limits,  have  a  manifest  tendency  to  subvert  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  Colonists. 

"IX.  That  the  duties  imposed  by  several  late  acts  of  Par 
liament,  from  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  these  Colonies, 


12  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

will  be  extremely  burtbensome  and  grievous,  and,  from  tbe 
scarcity  of  specie,  the  payment  of  them  absolutely  imprac 
ticable. 

"  X.  That  as  the  profits  of  the  trade  of  these  Colonies  ulti 
mately  centre  in  Great  Britain  to  pay  for  the  manufactures 
which  they  are  obliged  to  take  from  thence,  they  eventually 
contribute  very  largely  to  all  supplies  granted  there  to  the 
Crown. 

* '  XI.  That  the  restrictions  imposed  by  several  acts  of  Par 
liament,  on  the  trade  of  these  Colonies,  will  render  them  un 
able  to  purchase  the  manufactures  of  Great  Britain. 

"XII.  That  the  increase,  prosperity,  and  happiness  of 
these  Colonies  depend  on  the  full  and  free  enjoyment  of  their 
rights  and  liberties,  and  an  intercourse  with  Great  Britain 
mutually  affectionate  and  advantageous. 

' 4  XIII.  That  it  is  the  right  of  the  British  subjects  in  these 
Colonies  to  petition  the  King  or  either  House  of  Parliament. 

"Lastly,  that  it  is  the  indispensable  duty  of  these  Colo 
nies,  to  the  best  of  sovereigns,  to  the  mother-country,  and  to 
themselves,  to  endeavor,  by  a  loyal  and  dutiful  address  to  his 
Majesty  and  humble  applications  to  both  Houses  of  Parlia 
ment,  to  procure  the  repeal  of  the  Act  for  Granting  and  Ap 
plying  Certain  Stamp  Duties,  of  all  clauses  of  any  other  acts 
of  Parliament  whereby  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Admiralty  is 
extended  as  aforesaid,  and  of  the  other  late  acts  for  the  re 
striction  of  American  Commerce." 

The  Congress  sent  addresses  to  the  King  and  to  the  House 
of  Commons,  which  endeavor  by  argument  and  persuasion, 
rather  than  remonstrance,  to  induce  a  repeal  of  the  obnox 
ious  acts  of  Parliament. 

Mr.  Bancroft  has  explained  that  the  action  of  this  Congress 
was  signed  and  approved  by  delegates  from  only  six  Colo 
nies,  the  other  delegates  present  not  having  authority ;  and 
it  may  be  added  that  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  were  not 
represented  because  their  Assemblies  were  nofc  in  session. 


MR.   PITT'S  SPEECH  ON  THE  STAMP  ACT. 

At  the  meeting  of  Parliament  in  January,  1766,  the  new 
administration  of  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham,  which  had 
recently  succeeded  that  of  Grenville,  exhibited  signs  of  re 
ceding  from  the  policy  of  the  Stamp  Act,  and  several  members 
spoke  in  manly  strains  in  behalf  of  the  rights  of  the  Colo 
nists.  Among  these  was  the  celebrated  William  Pitt,  after 
wards  Earl  of  Chatham.  His  health  was  very  feeble,  and 
for  a  long  time  he  had  not  appeared  in  the  House ;  but  on 
this  occasion  he  said  to  his  friends :  '  *  My  resolution  is  taken, 
and,  if  I  can  crawl  or  be  carried,  I  will  deliver  my  mind  and 
heart  upon  the  state  of  America."  In  reply  to  the  argument 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  13 

of  the  friends  of  the  Ministry  in  favor  of  the  right  and  duty 
of  imposing  a  tax  on  America,  he  said : 

' '  I  speak  not  with  respect  to  parties :  I  stand  upon  this  place 
single,  unsolicited,  and  unconnected.  As  to  the  late  Minis 
try,"  turning  scornfully  towards  Grenville,  "  every  capital 
measure  they  have  taken  is  entirely  wrong.  To  the  present 
Ministry,  to  those  at  least  whom  I  have  in  my  eye,"  look 
ing  at  Con  way  arid  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury,  * '  I  have  no 
objection.  Their  characters  are  fair.  But,  pardon  me,  gen 
tlemen,  youth  is  the  season  of  credulity ;  confidence  is  a  plant 
of  slow  growth  in  an  aged  bosom.  By  comparing  even^ 
with  each  other,  reasoning  from  effects  to  causes,  methinks 
I  discover  the  traces  [referring  to  the  Duke  of  New  Castle] 
of  over-ruling  influences. 

"It  is  a  long  time,"  he  continued,  " since  I  have  attended 
in  Parliament.  When  the  resolution  was  taken  in  the  House, 
to  tax  America,  I  was  ill  in  bed.  If  I  could  have  endured  to 
be  carried  in  my  bed,  so  great  was  the  agitation  of  my  mind 
for  the  consequences,  I  would  have  solicited  some  kind  hand 
to  have  laid  me  down  on  this  floor,  to  have  borne  my  testi 
mony  against  it.  It  is  now  an  act  that  has  passed.  I  would 
speak  with  decency  of  every  act  of  this  House,  but  I  must 
beg  indulgence  to  speak  of  it  with  freedom.  The  subject 
of  this  debate  is  of  greater  importance  than  ever  engaged 
the  attention  of  this  House,  that  subject  only  excepted 
when  nearly  a  century  ago,  it  was  a  question  whether  you 
yourselves  were  to  be  bond  or  free.  The  manner  in  which 
this  affair  will  be  terminated  will  decide  the  judgment  of 
posterity  on  the  glory  of  this  kingdom,  and  the  wisdom  of 
its  government,  during  the  present  reign. 

"As  my  health  and  life  are  so  very  infirm  and  precarious 
that  I  may  not  be  able  to  attend  on  the  day  that  may  be 
fixed  by  the  House  for  the  consideration  of  America,  I  must 
now,  though  somewhat  unseasonably,  leaving  the  expedi 
ency  of  the  Stamp  Act  to  another  time,  speak  to  a  point  of 
infinite  moment,  I  mean,  to  the  right.  Some  seem  to  have 
considered  it  as  a  point  of  honor,  and  leave  all  measures 
of  right  and  wrong  to  follow  a  delusion  that  may  lead 
us  to  destruction.  On  a  question  that  may  mortally  wound 
the  freedom  of  three  millions  of  brave  and  virtuous  subjects 
beyond  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  being  neither  really  nor  virtu 
ally  represented  in  Westminister,  cannot  be  held  legally, 
or  constitutionally,  or  reasonably  subject  to  obedience  to 
any  money  bill  of  this  kingdom.  The  Colonies  are  equally 
entitled  with  yourselves  to  all  the  natural  rights  of  mankind 
and  the  peculiar  privileges  of  Englishmen;  equally  bound  by 
the  laws ;  and  equally  participative  of  the  Constitution  of 
this  free  country.  The  Americans  are  the  sons,  not  the  bas 
tards,  of  England  !  As  subjects,  they  are  entitled  to,,  the 
common  right  of  representation,  and  cannot  be  bound  to  pay 


14  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

taxes  without  their  consent.  Taxation  is  no  part  of  the 
governing  power.  The  taxes,  — a  voluntary  gift  and  grant  of 
the  commons  alone.  In  an  American  tax,  what  do  we  do  ? 
We,  your  Majesty's  commons  of  Great  Britain,  give  and 
grant  to  your  Majesty — what,  our  own  property  ?  No.  We 
give  and  grant  to  your  Majesty;  the  property  of  your  Majes 
ty's  commons  in  America.  It  is  an  absurdity  in  terms. 

"  There  is  an  idea  in  some  that  the  Colonies  are  virtually 
represented  in  this  House.  They  never  have  been  repre 
sented  at  all  in  Parliament;  they  were  not  even  virtually 
represented  at  the  time  when  this  law,  as  captious  as  it  is 
iniquitous,  was  passed  to  deprive  them  of  the  most  inesti 
mable  of  their  privileges.  I  would  fain  know  by  whom  an 
American  is  represented  here  !  Is  he  represented  by  any 
knight  of  a  shire  in  any  county  of  this  kingdom  ?  Would  to 
God  that  respectable  representation  was  augmented  to  a 
greater  number.  Or  will  you  tell  him  that  he  is  represented 
by  any  representative  of  a  borough  ?  A  borough  which 
perhaps  no  man  ever  saw.  This  is  what  is  called  the  rotten 
part  of  the  Constitution.  It  cannot  endure  the  century!  If 
it  does  not  drop,  it  must  be  amputated.  The  idea  of  a  virtual 
representation  of  America  in  this  House  is  the  most  con 
temptible  that  ever  entered  into  the  head  of  a  man.  It  does 
not  deserve  a  serious  refutation. 

"The  commons  of  America,  represented  in  their  several 
Assemblies,  have  ever  been  in  the  possession  of  the  exercise 
of  this  their  Constitutional  right  of  giving  and  granting  their 
own  money.  They  would  have  been  slaves  if  they  had  not 
enjoyed  it. 

"  And  how  is  the  right  of  taxing  the  Colonies  internally 
compatible  with  that  of  framing  regulations,  without  num 
ber,  for  their  trade  ?  The  laws  of  this  kind  which  Par 
liament  is  daily  making  prove  that  they  form  a  body  sepa 
rate  from  Great  Britain.  While  you  hold  their  manufac 
tures  in  the  most  servile  restraint,  will  you  add  a  new  tax  to 
deprive  them  of  the  last  remnants  of  their  liberty  ?  This 
would  be  to  plunge  them  into  the  most  odious  slavery, 
against  which  their  charters  should  protect  them.  .  .  . 

"I  never  shall  own  the  justice  of  taxing  America  inter 
nally  until  she  enjoys  the  right  of  representation."  See 
American  Archives. 

Mr.  Pitt  proceeded  to  claim  for  Great  Britain  the  right  to 
regulate  the  external  trade  of  the  Colonists,  and  to  prohibit 
manufacturing— a  doctrine  not  at  all  consistent  with  the  gen 
erous  sentiments  above  quoted.  In  reply  to  Grenville,  he 
again  rose,  and  said : 

"Sorry  I  am  to  hear  the  liberty  of  speech  in  this  House 
imputed  as  a  crime.  But  the  imputation  shall  not  discour 
age  me ;  it  is  a  liberty  I  mean  to  exercise.  No  gentleman 
ought  to  be  afraid  to  exercise  it.  It  is  a  liberty  by  which  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  15 

gentleman  who  calumniates  it  might  and  ought  to  have 
profited.  He  ought  to  have  desisted  from  his  project.  The 
gentlemen  tells  us  America  is  obstinate — America  is  almost 
in  open  rebellion.  I  rejoice  that  America  has  resisted.  [At 
the  word  says  Bancroft,  the  whole  House  started  as  though 
their  hands  had  been  joined  and  an  electric  spark  had  darted 
through  them  all.] 

' '  I  rejoice  that  America  has  resisted.  If  its  millions  of  in 
habitants  had  submitted,  taxes  would  soon  have  been  laid  on 
Ireland ;  and  if  ever  this  nation  should  have  a  tyrant  for  its 
king,  six  millions  of  freemen  so  dead  to  all  the  feelings  of 
liberty  as  voluntarily  to  submit  to  be  slaves  would  be  fit 
instruments  to  make  slaves  of  the  rest.  .  .  . 

/-'  The  profits  of  Great  Britain,  from  the  trade  of  the  Colo 
nies,  through  all  its  branches,  is  two  millions  a  year.  This 
is  the  fund  that  carried  you  triumphantly  through  the  last 
war.  The  estates  that  were  rented  at  two  thousand  pounds 
a  year  three -score  years  ago,  are  at  three  thousand  pounds 
at  present.  You  owe  this  to  America.  This  is  the  price  that 
America  pays  you  for  her  protection." 

THE  STAMP  ACT. 

The  Stamp  Act  was  approved  by  commission,  the  King 
being  ill,  on  the  22d  March,  1765.  When  the  news  of  its 
passage  arrived  in  America,  it  everywhere  awakened  a 
spirit  of  resentment  and  indignation.  The  Virginia  House 
of  Burgesses  was  the  first  legislative  body  that  took  notice 
of  it ;  and  although  the  resolutions  adopted  in  May  are  tem 
perate  and  cautious,  they  called  forth  denunciation  of  trea 
son  from  the  Tories  against  Patrick  Henry,  their  author,  and 
gave  to  that  celebrated  orator  a  splendid  opportunity  for 
the  display  of  his  wonderful  eloquence.  But  on  another 
page  a  more  full  and  detailed  account  is  given  of  the  pro 
ceedings  with  reference  to  the  Stamp  Act,  in  Virginia.  Its 
title  was  "  An  act  for  granting  and  applying  stamp  duties, 
and  other  duties,  in  the  British  Colonies  and  Plantations  in 
America."  It  required  that  all  legal  pleadings,  whether  m 
thetcourts  of  law  or  equity,  or  in  the  courts  of  probate  or  Ad 
miralty  Court,  should  be  written  upon  a  stamped  piece  of 
vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  the  stamp 
varying  in  cost  with  the  importance  or  value  of  the  instru 
ment.  All  bills  of  lading,  clearances,  and  such  like  instru 
ments,  must  be  on  stamped  vellum  or  paper.  In  a  word,  all 
sorts  of  legal  instruments — such  as  deeds,  conveyances,  wills, 
bonds,  commissions  to  persons  appointed  to  office,  and  what 
ever  writing  that  had  any  legal  character— must  pay  the 
stamp  duty.  The  act  had  its  origin  in  the  following  circular- 
letter  from  the  English  secretary  for  the  Colonies : 

"Earl  of  Halifax  to  his  Majesty's  Governors  in  North 


16  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

America.     To  his  Majesty's  Governors  in  North  America 
and  the  West  Indian  Islands : 

"SIRS:  The  House  of  Commons  having,  in  the  last  ses 
sion  of  Parliament,  come  to  a  resolution  by  which  it  is  de 
clared  that,  towards  defraying  the  necessary  expenses  of 
defending,  protecting,  and  securing  the  British  Colonies  and 
Plantations  in  America,  it  may  be  proper  to  charge  certain 
stamp  duties  in  the  said  Colonies  and  Plantations  in  America, 
it  is  his  Majesty's  pleasure  that  you  should  transmit  to  me, 
without  delay,  a  list  of  all  instruments  made  use  of  in  public 
transactions,-— law  proceedings,  grants,  conveyances,  securi 
ties  of  land  or  money,— within  your  government,  with  proper 
and  sufficient  descriptions  of  the  same,  in  order  that,  if  Par 
liament  should  think  proper  to  pursue  the  intention  of  the 
aforesaid  resolution,  they  may  thereby  be  enabled  to  carry 
it  into  execution  in  the  most  effectual  and  least  burthensome 
manner. 

"  If  you  should  be  unable,  of  yourself,  to  prepare  a  list  of 
this  kind  with  sufficient  accuracy,  you  will  in  such  case  re 
quire  the  assistance  of  his  Majesty's  Attorney-general,  or  the 
principal  law  officers  of  the  Crown  within  your  government 
who  are  the  proper  persons  to  be  consulted,  towards  procur 
ing  the  said  information  in  the  manner  required. 

ulam,  etc., 

"DUNK  HALIFAX." 

"  ST.  JAMES',  llth  August,  1764. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

In  Massachusetts,  the  Governor,  in  his  message  at  the  open 
ing  of  the  Assembly,  made  no  allusion  to  the  Stamp  Act,  but, 
says  the  historian  Barry,  * '  the  House  was  not  daunted, "  and, 
at  the  instance  of  Otis,  voted  at  once  that  it  was  expedient 
there  should  be  a  "  meeting,  as  soon  as  convenient,  of  com 
mittees  from  the  Houses  in  the  several  Colonies,  to  consult 
together  on  their  present  circumstances,  and  the  difficulties 
to  which  they  were  and  must  be  reduced  by  the  operation 
of  the  late  acts  of  Parliament."  This  meeting  was  proposed 
to  be  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  October;  and  circular-let 
ters  were  drawn  up  to  be  sent  as  far  south  as  South  Carolina. 
The  opposition  of  the  Governor  and  of  Mr.  Hutchinson  could 
not  check  these  proceedings;  and  they  were  compelled  to  ac 
quiesce  in  them  with  the  best  grace  they  could.  Andrew 
Oliver,  a  brother-in-law  of  Hutchinson,  who  was  then  a 
chief  justice,  was  appointed  stamp-distributor  for  Massachu 
setts;  and  immediatly,  we  are  told,  "the  decree  seemed  to 
go  forth  that  Boston  should  lead  the  way  in  the  work  of 
compulsion."  The  accession  of  William  Pitt  to  office  in 
July  was  hailed  with  tumultuous  shouts  of  joy  by  the 
"  Sons  of  Liberty,"  and  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  spirit  of 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  17 

rebellion  against  the  obnoxious  law.  "  It  was  at  once  con 
certed,  therefore,"  says  Barry,  "  to  hang  in  effigy  the  obnox 
ious  distributor  of  stamps ;  and  on  the  morning  of  Wednes 
day,  the  14th  of  August,  the  inhabitants  of  the  southernly 
part  of  the  town,  as  they  passed  to  their  business,  saw,  sus 
pended  from  the  out-stretched  limb  of  a  majestic  elm  long 
known  as  the  'Liberty  Tree,'  an  effigy  of  Oliver,  tricked 
out  with  the  emblems  of  Bute  and  Grenville.  The  news 
spread  like  wildfire ;  and  thousands  collected  to  gaze  on  the 
spectacle.  Hutchinson,  as  the  chief  justice,  ordered  the 
sheriff  to  remove  the  images;  but  the  people  Interfered. 
expressing  their  determination  to  have  them  remain  until 
evening.  Governor  Bernard  summoned  his  Council  to  meet 
in  the  afternoon:  but  what  could  they  do?  A  majority  was 
opposed  to  taking  any  action ;  and  the  minority  was  com 
pelled  to  submit. 

u  Toward  evening  the  excitement  increased;  and  the 
images  were  taken  down,  placed  upon  a  bier,  supported  in 
procession  by  six  men,  and  followed  by  an  amazing  multi 
tude  through  the  streets  to  the  Town-house.  Here  the  crowd 
paused  directly  under  the  Council-chamber,  and  shouted,  at 
the  top  of  their  voices,  '  Liberty,  property,  and  no  stamps.' 
Three  cheers  were  then  given ;  and  the  crowd  moved  on  to 
Kelby  Street,  to  Oliver's  Dock,  where  a  building  was  demol 
ished,  which,  it  was  supposed,  had  been  erected  for  a  stamp 
office.  The  fragments  of  this  building  were  carried  to  Fort 
Hill,  and  a  bonfire  was  made  of  them  in  front  of  Oliver's 
house,  upon  which  the  images  were  burned. 

"  The  spirit  of  resistance  was  fully  aroused,  and  the  cry 
of  the  South  was  echoed  at  the  North.  4  The  Stamp  Act  shall 
never  be  executed  here,'  was  the  determination  of  the  peo 
ple.  '  All  the  power  of  Great  Britian  shall  not  compel  us  to 
submit  to  it.  We  will  die  on  the  place  first.  We  will  spend 
our  last  blood  in  the  cause.  The  man  who  offers  a  stamped 
paper  to  sell  will  be  immediately  killed.'  It  was  to  no 
purpose  that  Hutchinson  directed  an  alarm  to  be  sounded, 
and  the  military  to  be  mustered ;  for  '  the  drummers  were  in 
the  mob.'  Nor  did  his  appearance  in  person,  with  the  sheriff 
at  his  heels,  cause  the  crowd  to  disperse.  '  Stand  by '  was 
the  watchword ;  and  the  baffled  chief  justice  was  compelled 
to  flee.  An  hour  before  midnight,  the  throng  repaired  to  the 
residence  of  the  Governor,  and,  after  three  cheers,  quietly 
dispersed. 

"  The  next  day  (August  15th),  a  proclamation  was  issued  by 
the  Governor,  offering,  a  reward  for  the  discovery  of  the  of 
fenders  :  but  no  one  was  disposed  to  act  as  informer ;  and  if 
any  were  seized,  '  the  prisons, '  said  May  hew,  'would  not 
hold  them  many  hours.'  '  We  haveTi  dismal  prospect  before 
us,' said  Hutchinson.  And  he  advised  that  a  larger  watch 
should  be  set  at  night;  but  the  motion  was  opposed,  and  the 


18  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

ordinary  watch  was  not  increased.  *  If  Oliver  had  been 
found  last  night,'  said  Bernard,  ruefully,  *  he  would  actually 
have  been  murthered.'  And  Oliver  inclined  to  the  same  opin 
ion.  It  was  plainly  intimated  that,  if  he  did  not  resign  his 
office  before  night,  his  house  would  have  been  pulled  down 
about  his  ears ;  and  thoroughly  convinced  that  it  would  be 
best  to  yield,  he  signed  a  paper  expressing  his  willingness  to 
throw  up  his  commission.  This  satisfied  the  crowd,  and  at 
night  a  bonfire  celebrated  their  victory. 

"  For  a  short  time  there  was  quiet.  But  at  length  the  dis 
trust  of  the  people  fell  upon  Hutchinson,  and,  twelve  days 
after  Oliver  had  been  hanged  in  effigy,  the  crowd  assembled 
to  pay  him  a  visit.  *  He  is  a  prerogative  man,'  was  the  gen 
eral  cry.  '  He  grasps  all  the  important  offices  in  the  state. 
He  himself  holds  four  offices,  and  his  relatives  six  or  seven. 
He  had  a  principal  hand  in  projecting  the  Stamp  Act.'  Such 
outcries  wrought  upon  their  inflammable  spirits,  and  pre 
pared  them  for  deeds  of  greater  violence.  Their  first  act 
was  to  enter  the  office  of  Mr.  Story,  the  deputy  registrar, 
opposite  the  north  side  of  the  Court-house,  and  burn  the  rec 
ords  of  the  Vice-admiralty  Court;  next  they  ravaged  the 
house  of  Mr.  Hallo  well,  tbe  comptroller  of  the  customs,  sit 
uated  on  Hanover  Street ;  and  then,  hastening  to  the  resi 
dence  of  Hutchinson,  in  Gordon  Court  Street,  and  barely  giv 
ing  his  family  time  to  escape,  they  split  open  the  doors  of  his 
palatial  mansion,  destroyed  his  furniture,  scattered  his  plate, 
threw  his  books  and  manuscripts  into  the  street,  ransacked 
his  wine-cellar,  and  at  daybreak  left  his  house  a  ruin. 

"Governor  Bernard  was  at  the  castle  when  these  events 
occurred;  but  hastening  to  town  the  next  day,he  summoned 
the  Council  to  meet  immediately,  to  decide  what  should  be 
done.  Before  that  body  met,  inhabitants  of  Boston  assem 
bled  in  Faneuil  Hall,  and,  deprecating  the  violent  proceed 
ings  of  the  previous  night,  a  series  of  resolutions  was  passed, 
desiring  the  selectmen  to  suppress  the  like  disorders  in  the 
future,  and  pledging  the  assistance  of  the  people  in  the  dis 
charge  of  this  duty.  The  Council  advised  a  proclamation 
offering  a  reward  of  three  hundred  pounds  for  the  detection 
of  the  ringleaders  and  one  hundred  pounds  for  other  per 
sons,  and  six  or  eight  were  apprehended ;  but  the  attempt 
to  arrest  one  Mackintosh,  in  King  Street,  was  resisted,  and 
those  who  had  been  seized  were  speedily  liberated.  The 
popular  excitement  was  such  that  nothing  could  be  effectu 
ally  done,  and  the  government  was  shorn  of  its  usual 
strength.  Few  even  of  the  conservative  citizens  sympa 
thized  with  the  legislation  which  had  awakened  this  resent 
ment,  and  few  were  disposed  to  interrupt  the  course  of 
events.  Only  so  much  restraint  was  therefore  exercised  as 
to  prevent  the  passions  of  the  multitude  from  overleaping 


THE  "BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  19 

all  bounds,  and  many  rejoiced  that  the  abettors  of  oppres 
sion  had  been  signally  rebuked." 

THE  STAMP  ACT  IN  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

Belknap,  in  his  history  of  New  Hampshire,  after  briefly 
recounting  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  passage  of 
the  Stamp  Act,  says : 

"  This  direct  and  violent  attack  on  our  dearest  privileges 
at  first  threw  us  into  a  silent  gloom ;  and  we  were  at  a  loss 
how  to  proceed.  To  submit,  was  to  rivet  the  shackles  of 
slavery  on  ourselves  and  our  posterity ;  to  revolt,  was  to 
rend  asunder  the  most  endearing  connection,  and  hazard 
the  resentment  of  a  powerful  nation.  In  this  dilemma,  the 
House  of  Burgesses  in  Virginia  passed  some  spirited  re 
solves,  asserting  the  rights  of  their  country  and  denying 
the  claim  of  parliamentary  taxation.  The  Assembly  of  Mas 
sachusetts  proposed  a  congress,  of  deputies  from  each  Colony, 
to  consult  upon  our  common  interests,  as  had  frequently 
been  practised  in  times  of  common  danger.  Several  speeches 
made  in  Parliament  by  onposers  of  the  Stamp  Act  were  re 
printed  here;  in  one  of  which  (that  of  Col.  Barre),  the  Amer 
icans  were  styled  'Sons  of  Liberty,'  and  the  speaker  ven 
tured,  from  his  personal  knowledge  of  this  country,  to  fore 
tell  our  opposition  to  the  act. 

' '  The  spirit  of  the  two  Virginian  resolves,  like  an  electric 
spark,  diffused  itself  instantly  and  universally;  and  the 
cautious  proposal  of  Massachusetts  was  generally  ap 
proved.  .  .  . 

"The  person  appointed  distributor  of  stamps  for  New 
Hampshire  was  George  Messerve,  son  of  the  late  colonel, 
who  died  at  Louisburg.  He  received  his  appointment  in 
England,  and  soon  after  embarked  for  America  and  arrived 
at  Boston.  Before  he  landed,  he  was  informed  of  the  oppo 
sition  which  was  making  to  the  act;  and  that  it  would  be 
acceptable  to  the  people  if  he  would  resign,  which  he  readily 
did,  and  they  welcomed  him  on  shore.  An  exhibition  of 
effigies  at  Portsmouth  had  prepared  the  minds  of  the  people 
there  for  his  reception ;  and  at  his  coming  to  town  he  made 
a  second  resignation,  on  the  parade,  before  he  went  to  his 
own  house.  This  was  accepted  with  the  usual  salutation ; 
and  every  one  appeared  to  be  satisfied  with  the  success  of 
the  popular  measures.  Soon  after,  the  stamped  paper  des 
tined  for  New  Hampshire  arrived  at  Boston  in  the  same 
vessel  with  that  intended  for  Massachusetts;  but  there  be 
ing  no  person  in  either  province  who  had  any  concern  with 
it,  it  was,  by  order  of  Governor  Bernard,  lodged  in  the 
castle. 

"The  Stamp  Act  was  to  commence  its  operation  on  the 
first  day  of  November ;  previously  to  which  the  appointed 


20  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Congress  was  formed  at  New  York,  consisting  of  delegates 
from  the  Assemblies  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Con 
necticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  the  Delaware  counties, 
Maryland,  and  South  Carolina.  Having,  like  the  Congress  of 
1764.  formed  themselves  in  geographical  order,  they  framed 
a  bill  of  rights  for  the  Colonies,  in  which  the  sole  power 
of  taxation  was  declared  to  be  in  their  own  Asesmblies. 
They  prepared  three  distinct  addresses,  to  the  King,  Lords, 
and  Commons,  stating  their  grievances,  and  asking  for  re 
dress.  These  were  subscribed  by  the  delegates  of  six  Colo 
nies;  the  others  who  were  present  were  not  empowered  to 
sign, but  reported  their  proceedings  to  their  constituents,  who 
approved  them  in  assembly,  and  forwarded  their  petitions. 
No  delegates  went  from  New  Hampshire  to  this  Congress; 
but  the  Assembly,  at  their  next  meeting,  adopted  the  same 
measures,  and  sent  similar  petitions  to  England,  which  they 
committed  to  Barlow  Trecothick,  their  agent,  and  John 
Wentworth,  a  young  gentlemen  of  Portsmouth,  who  was 
then  in  England,  to  be  by  them  presented  to  the  King  and 
Parliament.  .  .  . 

"  On  the  last  day  of  October  (1765)  the  New  Hampshire 
Gazette  appeared  with  a  mourning  border.  A  body  of  peo 
ple  from  the  country  approached  the  town  of  Portsmouth 
under  an  apprehension  that  the  stamps  would  be  distributed ; 
but  being  met  by  a  number  from  the  town,  and  assured  that 
no  such  thing  was  intended,  they  quietly  returned.  The 
next  day  the  bells  tolled,  and  a  funeral  procession  was  made 
for  the  Goddess  of  Liberty ;  but  on  depositing  her  in  the 
grave,  some  signs  of  life  were  supposed  to  be  discovered, 
and  she  was  carried  off  in  triumph.  By  such  exhibitions, 
the  spirit  of  the  populace  was  kept  up,  though  the  minds  of 
the  most  thoughtful  persons  were  filled  with  anxiety. 

"  It  was  doubtful  whether  the  courts  of  law  could  proceed 
without  stamps ;  and  it  was  certain  that  none  could  be  pro 
cured.  Some  licentious  persons  began  to  think  that  debts 
could  not  be  recovered,  and  that  they  might  insult  their 
creditors  with  impunity.  On  the  first  appearance  of  this 
disorderly  spirit,  associations  were  formed  at  Portsmouth, 
Exeter,  and  other  places,  to  support  the  magistrates  and 
preserve  the  peace.  The  5th  of  November  had  always  been 
observed  as  a  day  of  hilarity,  in  remembrance  of  the  pow 
der-plot.  On  the  folio  whig  night  a  strong  guard  was  kept 
in  Portsmouth.  By  these  precautions  the  tendency  to  riot 
was  seasonably  checked,  and  no  waste  of  property  or  per 
sonal  insult  was  committed;  though  some  obnoxious  charac 
ters  began  to  tremble  for  their  safety. 

"When  Messerve  arrived,  the  people  supposed  that  he 
had  brought  his  commission  with  him,  and  were  content 
that  it  should  remain  in  his  hands,  being  rendered  void  by 
his  resignation.  But  in  fact,  he  did  not  receive  it  till  after 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  21 

the  time  fixed  for  the  operation  of  the  act.  Having  shown 
his  instructions  to  the  Governor,  and  some  other  public  offi 
cers,  it  was  suspected  that  he  intended  to  commence  the  ex 
ecution  of  his  office.  The  Sons  of  Liberty  were  alarmed ; 
(this  was  January,  1766) ;  they  assembled  by  beat  of  drum, 
and  obliged  him  publicly  to  deliver  up  his  commission  and 
instructions,  which  they  mounted  on  the  point  of  a  sword 
and  carried  in  triumph  through  the  town.  An  oath  was 
administered  to  him  by  Justice  Claget,  purporting  that  he 
would  neither  directly  nor  indirectly  attempt  to  execute  the 
office." 

THE  STAMP  ACT— RHODE  ISLAND. 

Arnold's  history  of  Ehode  Island  contains  the  following 
account  of  the  action  of  the  people  of  that  Province,  with 
reference  to  the  Stamp  Act.  As  has  already  been  stated, 
the  violent  action  of  the  Boston  people  occurred  on  the  14th 
and  15th  of  August,  1765.  Those  of  New  Hampshire  began 
on  the  last  day  of  October. 

The  first  public  notice  taken  of  the  Stamp  Act  by  the  peo 
pie  of  Rhode  Island  was  at  a  special  town  meeting  in  Prov 
idence  on  the  7th  August,  "  at  which  a  committee  was  ap 
pointed  to  draft  instructions  to  their  deputies  in  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly.  The  following  week  they  reported  a  series 
of  resolutions  very  similar  to  those  passed  in  Virginia, 
which  were  afterwards  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly, 
with  some  additions,  to  which  we  shall  presently  refer.  No 
overt  act  of  violence  occurred  in  Providence.  In  Boston,  a 
mob  attacked  the  house  of  Secretary  Oliver,  the  stamp-dis 
tributor,  and  compelled  him  to  resign  the  office.  An  extra 
number  of  the  Providence  Gazette,  which  had  been  for  some 
time  suspended,  was  issued,  with  "Vox  Populi,  Vox  Dei" 
in  large  letters  above  the  title,  and  "  Where  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord  is,  there  is  Liberty. — St.  Paul" — as  a  motto.  In 
this  sheet  the  spirit  of  resistance  manifested  in  Boston  was 
extolled ;  the  instructions  of  the  Providence  town  meeting 
to  their  deputies  were  published,  with  extracts  from  Col. 
Barre's  famous  speech  in  Parliament,  and  from  other  Colo 
nial  papers  against  the  Stamp  Act.  The  resignation  of  Augus 
tus  Johnston,  the  Attorney-general,  who  had  been  appointed 
stamp-distributor  for  Rhode  Island,  was  also  announced  in 
this  extra ;  he  refusing  to  execute  his  office  against  the  will 
of  "  our  sovereign  lord,  the  people"  (to  use  his  own  words). 
After  referring  to  the  conduct  of  the  people  of  Boston,  the 
historian  continues:  "  At  Newport,  the  demonstrations  were 
equally  violent.  Effigies  of  three  prominent  citizens,*  who 


*  "Augustus  Johnston,  Attorney-general  of  the  Colony;  Martin 
Howard,  Jr.,  an  eminent  lawyer  ;  and  Dr.  Thomas  Moft'at,  a  Scotch 


22  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

had  incurred  the  popular  odium  by  advocating  the  measures 
of  Parliament,  were  drawn  through  the  streets,  hung  on  a 
gallows  in  front  of  the  Court-house,  and  in  the  evening  were 
cut  down  and  burnt  in  the  presence  of  assembled  thousands. 
On  the  following  day,  the  houses  of  these  obnoxious  persons- 
were  plundered  by  the  mob,  and  they  were  compelled  to  flee 
for  protection  on  board  the  Cygnet  sloop  of  war,  then  lying 
in  the  harbor.  The  revenue  officers,  in  fear  for  their  lives, 
sought  the  same  refuge  and  closed  the  Custom-house.  They 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  government,  demanding  protection, 
and  refusing  to  resume  their  offices  until  security  was  guar 
anteed  to  them.  In  the  absence  of  the  Governor,  Gideon 
Wanton,  Jr.,  of  the  Council,  replied,  assuring  the  officers 
that  ah1  danger  was  passed,  and  inviting  them  to  resume  their 
duties.  This  did  not  quiet  their  fears.  They  demanded  a 
guard  for  their  protection ;  and  also  the  arrest  of  Samuel 
Grand  all,  a  ringleader  of  the  rioters,  who  had  dictated,  as 
the  terms  upon  which  the  collector  might  again  set  his  feet 
on  shore,  that  the  Custom-house  fees  should  be  regulated  ac 
cording  to  the  late  act  of  Assembly,  in  defiance  of  an  act  of 
Parliament;  and  that  a  prize  sloop,  with  molasses,  under  the 
guns  of  the  Cygnet,  awaiting  the  decision  of  an  Admirality 
Court  at  Halifax,  should  be  restored.  A  daring  plan  for  the 
capture  of  this  prize  was  made  known  to  Captain  Leslir,  of 
the  Cygnet,  and  by  him  communicated  to  Governor  Ward. 
It  was  intended  to  man  a  number  of  boats  and  take  posses 
sion  of  Fort  George;  then,  with  the  boats,  to  cut  out  the 
sloop,  and  in  case  of  resistance  from  the  Cygnet,  to  fire  upon 
her  from  the  fort.  Had  this  attempt  been  made,  either  the 
Cygnet  would  have  been  sunk  by  the  guns  of  the  fort,  and 
the  ^Revolution  have  commenced,  as  it  did  a  few  years  later 
in  the  same  waters,  or  the  town  would  have  been  destroyed. 
But  better  counsels  for  the  time  prevailed ;  measures  were 
taken  to  secure  the  fort,  and  harmony  was  shortly  restored. 
The  popular  feeling  was  assuaged  by  a  lawful  and  peaceful 
demonstration  against  the  Stamp  Act,  such  as  had  been 
made  in  Providence.  The  deputies  were  instructed  by  a 
town  meeting  to  give  their  '  utmost  attention  to  those  im 
portant  objects— the  Court  of  Admirality  and  the  act  for 
laying  stamp  duties  '—at  the  approaching  session  of  the  As 
sembly.  They  were  reminded  that  '  It  is  for  liberty — that 
liberty  for  which  our  fathers  fought ;  that  liberty  which  is 
dearer  to  a  generous  mind  than  life  itself— that  we  now  con 
tend.  The  cause  is  vast  and  important.'  " 

On  the  16th  September,  * '  one  of  the  most  important  ses 
sions  ever  held  by  the  General  Assembly  was  now  convened 

physician.  The  two  latter  returned  to  England.  Howard  was  ap 
pointed  chief  justice  of  North  Carolina  the  next  year,  and  Moffat, 
comptroller  of  customs  at  New  London. " 


THE  BIRTH  OP  TEE  REPUBLIC.  23 

at  Greenwich.  The  Governor  was  requested  to  issue  a  proc 
lamation  for  the  arrest  of  the  recent  rioters  at  Newport,  and 
to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  such  disturbances." 

Instructions  were  prepared  by  a  committee  for  their  guid 
ance,  in  which  the  loyalty  of  the  Assembly  to  the  King  and 
Parliament  are  declared ;  yet  ' '  they  would  assert  their  rights 
and  privileges  with  becoming  freedom  and  spirit,"  and  the 
delegates  are  directed  "  to  express  these  sentiments  in  the 
strongest  manner"  in  the  representation  and  address  pro 
posed  to  be  made  by  the  Congress  to  the  home  government. 
This  committee  was  composed  of  Othniel  Gorton,  Daniel 
Jenckes,  and  George  Hazzard.  Another  committee,  com 
posed  of  Benjamin  Green,  Job  Eandall,  William  Hall,  Moses 
Brown,  and  Henry  Ward,  was  appointed  to  consider  what 
is  necessary  to  be  done  by  this  Assembly  respecting  the 
Stamp  Act;  and  to  report  as  soon  as  possible.  "They 
presented  a  series  of  six  resolutions,  which,"  says  Arnold, 
"like  the  previous  acts  of  Rhode  Island,  were  more  ener 
getic  and  concise  than  any  that  had  yet  been  adopted  by  the 
other  Colonies,  and  pointed  directly  to  an  absolution  of  alle 
giance  to  the  British  Crown  unless  the  grievances  were  re 
moved.  Five  of  these  were  nearly  in  the  terms  of  the  in 
structions  given  by  the  town  of  Providence  to  their  deputies. 
The  first  four  had  already  been  passed  in  Virginia;  and  the 
fifth,  which  had  been  offered  there  by  Patrick  Henry,  and 
passed  l}y  one  vote,  but  was  rescinded  the  next  day,  was 
adopted  oy  the  Providence  town  meeting,  and  unanimously 
passed  by  the  Assembly,  as  expressing  precisely  the  views 
they  were  determined  to  maintain.  This  denied  the  right 
of  any  power  but  the  General  Assembly  to  levy  taxes  upon 
the  Colony,  and  absolved  the  people  from  obedience  to  any 
law,  designed  for  that  purpose,  originating  from  any  other 
source.  To  these  the  Assembly  added  a  sixth,  directing  the 
officers  of  the  Colony  to  proceed  as  usual  in  the  execution  of 
their  trusts,  and  agreeing  to  save  them  harmless  in  so  doing. 
This  was  bold  legislation,  but  the  temper  of  the  times  and 
the  spirit  of  the  Colony  were  correctly  represented  therein." 
See  Arnold's  History  of  Rhode  Island,  vol.  2,  pp.  257-261. 

As  it  is  proposed  to  include  the  Henry  resolutions  in  their 
appropriate  place  under  the  head  of  Virginia,  it  is  needless 
to  insert  them  here.  The  sixth  resolution  adopted  by  the 
Rhode  Island  Assembly  on  this  occasion  is  as  follows: 

U6.'  That  all  the  officers  of  this  Colony,  appointed  by  the 
authority  thereof,  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  directed  to  pro 
ceed  in  the  execution  of  their  respective  offices,  in  the  same 
manner  as  usual.  And  that  this  assembly  will  indemnify 
and  save  harmless  all  the  said  officers  on  account  of  their 
conduct  agreeable  to  this  resolution." 

The  Charter  of  Rhode  Island  authorized  the  people  to 
choose  their  Governor ;  and  this  fact  will  account  for  the 


24  TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

statement  recorded  by  Arnold,  that  "Samuel  Ward,  the 
Governor  of  Rhode  Island,  stood  alone  in  his  patriotic  re 
fusal  "  to  take  the  oath  to  sustain  the  Stamp  Act.  All  the 
other  Governors  took  the  oath  the  day  before  the  act  was 
to  go  into  effect.  ' '  But  the  people  had  already  settled  the 
question.  The  fatal  day  dawned  upon  a  nation  united  in 
their  determination  of  resistance.  Not  a  stamp  was  to  be 
seen.  The  wheels  of  every  government  in  America  were 
stopped  at  once.  Commerce  was  crushed,  law  was  annulled, 
justice  was  delaved,  even  the  usages  of  domestic  life  were 
suspended,  by  this  anomalous  and  terrible  act.  Not  a  ship 
could  sail,  not  a  statute  could  be  enforced,  not  a  court  could 
sit,  not  even  a  marriage  taken  place,  that  was  not  in  itself 
illegal,  so  far  as  the  British  Parliament  could  make  it  so ;  for 
every  one  of  these  acts  required  the  evidence  of  stamped 
paper  to  establish  its  validity. " 

But,  "The  triumph  over  an  unjust  and  unconstitutional 
act  was  complete  in  Rhode  Island,  where,  under  the  sixth 
resolution  of  the  September  Assembly,  the  judicial  courts 
held  their  regular  terms,  unawed  by  the  feeling  which,  in 
the  other  Colonies,  suspended  for  a  time  that  department  of 
of  their  several  governments."  Arnold,  pages  264,  265. 

"Organizations  under  the  name  of  'Sons  of  Liberty,'  a 
term  first  applied  to  the  Americans  by  Colonel  Barre,  in  his 
famous  speech  against  the  Stamp  Act,  had  sprung  up  in 
all  the  Colonies;  but  we  believe  that  to  Rhode  Island  was 
reserved  the  peculiar  honor  of  initiating  a  similar  order, 
composed  of  the  gentler  sex,  known  as  k  Daughters  of  Lib 
erty.'  Its  origin  is  ascribed  to  Dr.  Ephraim  Bo  wen,  at  whose 
house  eighteen  young  ladies,  belonging  to  prominent  families 
in  Providence,  assembled  (March  16,  1766)  by  invitation, 
and  employed  the  time  from  sunrise  till  evening  in  spinning. 
They  resolved  to  purchase  no  more  British  manufactures 
unless  the  Stamp  Act  should  be  repealed,  and  adopted  other 
resolutions,  perhaps  more  patriotic  than  prudent,  to  accom 
plish  this  desirable  end.  They  were  handsomely  entertained 
by  the  doctor  at  dinner,  but  cheerfully  agreed  to  omit  tea 
at  the  evening  meal  to  render  their  conduct  yet  more  con 
sistent.  The  association  rapidly  increased  in  numbers  so 
that  their  next  meeting  was  held  at  the  Court-house.  This 
was  for  the  purpose  of  spinning  a  handsome  piece  of  linen, 
as  a  premium  for  the  person  who  should  raise  the  largest 
amount  of  flax  during  the  year  in  the  county  of  Providence. 
Thus  the  spirit  of  resistance  pervaded  every  portion  of  so 
ciety  ;  and  the  determination  to  oppose  the  £>tamp  Act,  even 
to  '  the  destruction  of  the  union'  of  the  Colonies  with  the 
mother-country,  was  declared  at  a  meeting  in  Providence 
held  at  this  tim9."  Arnold,  page  266,  vol.  2d. 

The  joy  of  the  people,  when  news  arrived  of  the  repeal  of 
the  Stamp  Act,  was  unbounded.  In  Providence,  the  anni- 


THE  BIRTH  OP  THE  REPUBLIC.  25 

versary  of  the  King's  birth  was  selected  as  a  day  of  public 
rejoicing,  to  attest  at  once  the  loyalty  of  the  people  and 
their  love  of  liberty. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Connecticut  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  Colonies  to 
protest  against  the  Stamp  Act.  The  press,  the  town  meet 
ing,  and  the  pulpit  united  in  a  chorus  of  opposition,  and 
roused  the  people  to  the  point  of  resistance  to  its  execution. 
Secret  societies  were  framed  with  a  view  to  resist  the  en 
forcement  of  the  act,  by  violence,  if  necessary.  Governor 
Fitch,  though  he  had  exerted  himself  to  prevent  the  passage 
of  the  law,  "  remained,  with  a  portion  of  the  Council,  firm  in 
the  determination"  to  sustain  it,  much  as  they  loathed  it. 
•'Colonel  Trumbull,"  says  Hollister,  "had  been  one  of -the 
first  to  decide  upon  a  different  course  of  action.  Governor 
Fitch  at  last  made  the  proposition,  in  open  Council,  that  they 
should  all  take  the  oath  in  conformity  with  the  Stamp  Act. 
TrumbuH's  eye  flashed  and,  his  cheek  darkened  with  anger 
at  the  proposal.  He  refused  to  witness  the  hollow-hearted 
ceremony,  and,  rising  indignantly,  turned  his  back  upon  the 
Governor  and  walked  out  of  the  chamber,  followed  by  a 
majority  of  the  assistants.  Only  four  members  of  the  Coun 
cil  remained." 

The  time  had  now  arrived  for  action.  Mr.  Ingersoll,  hav 
ing  accepted  the  place  of  stampmaster,  was  determined  to 
discharge  its  duties ;  still,  he  sought  to  conciliate  his  fellow- 
townsmen  at  New  Haven,  who  for  the  most  part  were  op 
posed  to  the  law.  ' '  The  act  is  so  contrived, "  he  argued,  * '  as 
to  make  it  for  your  interest  to  buy  the  stamps.  When  I  un 
dertook  the  office,  I  meant  a  service  to  you."  "  Stop  adver 
tising  your  wares  till  they  arrive  safe  at  market,"  said  one. 
"  The  two  first  letters  of  his  name  are  those  of  a  traitor  of 
old,"  shouted  a  second,  and  added  bitterly,  "It  was  decreed 
that  our  Saviour  should  suffer;  but  was  it  better  that  Judas 
Iscariot  should  betray  him  so  that  the  price  of  his  blood 
might  be  saved  by  his  friends  V  At  last  the  citizens  gath 
ered  around  his  house  in  great  numbers.  ' '  Will  you  resign  ?" 
was  the  private  inquiry  they  put  to  him.  "I  know  not  if  I 
have  the  power  to  resign,"  answered  the  resolute  man.  On 
the  17th  of  September  (1765),  a  town  meeting  was  held  there, 
and  Ingersoll  was  called  upon  by  a  public  vote  to  resign  his 
office  without  delay.  "I  shall  await  to  see  how  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly  is  inclined,"  said  the  stampmaster,  evasively. 

"  Affairs  began  now  to  assume  a  very  threatening  attitude. 
The  Sons  of  Liberty  from  Norwich,  New  London,  Wind- 
ham,  Lebanon,  and  other  towns  had  already  taken  the  field, 
and,  with  eight  d,ays'  provisions,  were  riding  up  and  down 
the  country  eh  horse^cfc:  to  sddycii^him  out  and  force  him 


26  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

to  resign.  He  could  no  longer  stay  in  New  Haven  with 
safety.  He  therefore  set  off  for  Hartford,  where  the  Assem 
bly  was  about  to  meet.  He  intended  to  take  the  advice  of 
the  representatives  of  the  people,  hoping  that  it  might  ba 
more  to  his  mind  than  the  will  of  the  constituency.  Gov 
ernor  Fitch  accompanied  him  to  protect  him  from  insult. 
On  their  way  they  were  met  by  two  men  on  horseback,  with 
peeled  clubs  in  their  hands,  who  did  not  conceal  the  fact 
that  they  were  couriers  of  a  much  larger  company.  His  ex 
cellency  bade  them  go  back  and  tell  their  associates  to  dis 
perse.  To  his  astonishment  they  refused  to  obey  him.  '  We 
look  upon  this,'  said  they,  'as  the  cause  of  the  people  ;  we 
will  not  take  directions  about  it  from  any  one.'  Mr.  Inger- 
soll  sent  a  message  by  them  to  the  effect  that  he  would  meet 
the  multitude  at  Etartford.  They  then  withdrew. 

"  On  Thursday  evening,  the  very  day  on  which  the  session 
was  to  begin,  Ingersoll  resumed  his  journey  for  Hartford, 
alone.  He  rode  through  the  woods  many  miles,  and  passed 
up  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  for  a  good  long  way  with 
out  molestation.  What  thoughts  served  to  while  away  the 
time  of  this  solitary  traveller,  history  does  not  tell  us,  and 
we  are  at  liberty  to  conjecture,  each  for  himself.  He  had 
arrived  within  two  or  three  miles  of  Wethersfield  when  he 
saw  four  or  five  men  advancing  to  meet  him.  He  probably 
needed  little  explanation  as  to  the  object  of  their  errand. 
About  half  a  mile  farther  up  the  river,  he  met  a  second 
escort,  of  thirty  men;  still  no  violence  was  offered  to  him. 
The  stampmaster  and  his  guard  rode  on  with  the  solemnity 
and  decorum  of  a  funeral  procession.  But  still  more  con 
spicuous  honors  awaited  him.  He  soon  saw  a  cavalcade  of 
about  five  hundred  freeholders  and  farmers,  all  well  mounted 
and  armed,  not  with  carbines  and  steel  blades,  but  with  long 
and  ponderous  clubs.  They  were  ghastly  white,  too,  for 
the  bark  had  been  stripped  from  every  one,  in  rude  imi 
tation  of  the  ominous  baton  carried  at  that  day  by  officers 
of  the  peace.  This  formidable  company,  under  the  command 
of  Durkee,  rode  slowly  forward  behind  two  militia  officers 
dressed  in  full  uniform,  and  inspired  by  the  presence  of 
three  trumpeters,  who  made  the  woods  echo  with  martial 
music.  They  rode  two  abreast  and  opened  their  line  to  re 
ceive  Mr.  Ingersoll  with  the  profoundest  courtesy.  They 
then  rode  forward  along  the  western  bank  of  the  Connecti 
cut,  over  those  fair  acres  that  were  then  cultivated  farms 
and  have  since  been  converted  into  gardens,  until  they  came 
to  Wethersfield.  In  the  wide  main  street  of  this  oldest  of  all 
the  towns  in  the  Colony,  the  grandsons  and  great-grand 
sons  of  the  pioneer  planters,  who  had  left  the  straitened 
settlements  of  Massachusetts  to  enjoy  pure  liberty  and 
brave  meadow-lands, "  halted  between  the  two  r,ows  of  houses 
whose  fronts  kept  their  ^entjenianlp  jlietjince  of  twenty  full 


TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  27 

rods  from  each  other ;  and  looking  up  at  the  blue  vault,  as 
if  the  open  heavens  were  best  fitted  to  witness  the  triumph 
of  principles  that  had  descended  as  legacies  to  them,  they 
exclaimed  significantly,  "we  cannot  all  see  and  hear  so  well 
in  a  house;  we  had  as  good  have  the  business  done  here." 

"Then  they  commanded  him  to  resign.  *  Is  it  fair,'  inter 
posed  Ingersoll,  'that  the  counties  of  New  London  and 
Windham  should  dictate  to  all  the  rest  of  the  Colony  ?' 
'It  don't  signify  to  parley,'  was  the  answer;  'here  are  a 
great  many  people  waiting,  and  you  must  resign.'  Then 
ensued  in  substance  the  following  dialogue  between  the 
people  and  the  stampmaster: 

"  Ingersoll— 'I  wait  to  know  the  sense  of  the  Government. 
Besides,  were  I  to  resign,  the  Governor  has  power  to  put  in 
another.' 

"People— 'Here  is  the  sense  of  the  Government;  and  no 
man  shall  exercise  your  office.' 

"Ingersoll — 'What  will  follow  if  I  won't  resign  ?' 

"People—'  Your  fate.' 

"Ingersoll  (calmly) — '  I  can  die,  and  perhaps  as  well  now 
as  at  any  time.  I  can  die  but  once.' 

"Durkee  (impatiently)— 'Don't  irritate  the  people.' 

"Ingersoll — '  I  ask  for  leave  to  proceed  to  Hartford.' 

"Durkee — 'You  shall  not  go  two  rods  till  you  have  re 
signed. 

"  Ingersoll  now  bethought  him  of  a  new  expedient  to  gain 
time.  Under  the  pretence  of  reflecting  upon  the  propriety 
of  complying  with  the  demand  of  the  people,  he  retired  into 
an  upper  room  of  a  house  that  was  standing  near  by  the 
spot  where  this  parley  had  taken  place.  A  committee  of 
the  people  attended  him.  Here  he  contrived  to  put  off  the 
multitude  with  promises  and  excuses  for  three  tedious  hours, 
during  which  he  sent  a  messenger  to  Hartford  to  inform  the 
Governor  and  the  Legislature  of  his  situation.  At  last  the 
crowd  began  to  lose  all  patience  'Get  the  matter  over 
before  the  Assembly  has  time  to  do  anything  about  it,'  said 
some ;  while  others,  probing  his  motives  to  their  depths,  ex 
claimed  in  their  blunt,  strong  English,  'This  delay  is  his 
artifice  to  wheedle  the  matter  along  till  the  Assembly  shall 
get  ensnared  in  it.'  The  passions  of  the  multitude  were  now 
at  fever  heat.  Striding  to  the  door  of  the  house  where 
Ingersoll  had  retreated,  and  stalking  up  the  stairs,  Durkee 
again  confronted  the  stampmaster.  '  I  can  keep  the  people 
off  no  longer, '  said  he,  in  a  tone  of  warning.  These  words 
were  like  a  death-knell  to  Ingersoll.  He  saw  the  stalwart 
farmers  filling  the  hall  with  their  dark  forms,  their  white 
staves  gleaming  as  they  pressed  upon  each  other,  and  their 
great,  bright  eyes  flashing  with  indignation.  The  heavy 
tramp  of  others  was  ascending  the  stairs.  He  saw  that  he 
must  surrender  at  discretion  or  be  torn  in  pieces. 


28  THE  BIRTH  OP  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"  *  The  cause  is  not  worth  dying  for,'  he  said  with  the  cool 
irony  that  marked  his  character,  as  he  set  his  hand  to  the 
formal  resignation  that  had  been  prepared  for  him,  and  of 
which  the  following  is  a  copy : 

"  '  WETHERSFIELD,  September  19th,  1765. 

"  '  I  do  hereby  promise  that  I  never  will  receive  any 
stamped  papers  which  may  arrive  from  Europe,  in  conse- 

Saence  of  an  act  lately  passed  in  the  Parliament  of  Great 
ritain;  nor  officiate  as  stampmaster  or  distributor  of 
stamps,  within  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  either  directly  or 
indirectly.  And  I  do  hereby  notify  to  all  the  inhabitants  of 
his  Majesty's  Colony  of  Connecticut  (notwithstanding  the 
said  office  or  trust  has  been  committed  to  me),  not  to  apply 
to  me,  ever  after,  for  any  stamped  paper:  hereby  declaring 
that  I  do  resign  the  said  office  and  execute  these  presents 
of  my  own  free  will  and  accord,  without  any  equivocation 
or  mental  reservation. 

*"  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand. 

"  *  J.  INGERSOLL.' 

"  'Swear  to  it  !'  cried  the  people,  when  he  had  written  his 
name.  He  begged  that  they  would  excuse  him  from  taking 
an  oath.  'Then  shout  liberty  and  property  three  times,' 
said  the  sovereign  crowd.  Against  this  spontaneous  form 
of  abjuration  he  could  raise  no  valid  objection.  He  swung 
his  hat  about  his  head  and  uttered  the  charmed  words  three 
several  times  with  such  well-feigned  earnestness  that  the 
people  set  the  seal  to  his  repentance  by  giving  three  huzzas 
that  must  have  echoed  to  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Connecti 
cut. 

"The  party  now  dined  in  perfect  good  humor.  By  this 
time  the  company  had  doubled  its  numbers,  and  after  dinner 
one  thousand  horsemen  were  ready  to  attend  his  triumphant 
entry  into  Hartford.  The  highway  was  thronged  with  free 
holders,  standing  in  front  of  their  houses,  to  get  a  fair  view 
of  the  stampmaster  and  his  retinue." 

Hollister,  in  a  note,  gives  an  anecdote  as  illustrative  of 
the  good  humor  that  prevailed  on  the  march.  "General 
Humphreys,"  he  says,  "  mentions  a  jest  that  passed  between 
them  while  the  cavalcade  was  escorting  the  ex-stampmaster 
to  Hartford — which  was  given  and  received  with  entire 
good  nature.  Mr.  Ingersoll,  who  chanced  to  ride  a  white 
horse,  being  asked  what  he  thought  to  find  himself  attended 
by  such  a  retinue,  replied  '  that  he  had  now  a  clearer  idea 
than  ever  he  had  before  conceived  of  that  passage  in  the 
Revelations  which  describes  Death  on  a  pale  horse,  and  Hell 
folio  wing  him.'" 

14  At  last,"  resumes  Hollister,  "they  reached  the  Capitol. 
Here  Durkee  drew  up  his  dragoons  four  abreast,  and,  while 
the  trumpeters  redoubled  their  exertions  to  enliven  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  29 

scene,  led  the  main  body  over  the  familiar  haunts  where  the 
train-bands  had  defied  the  tyranny  of  Fletcher,  and  where 
the  charter  had  eluded  the  grasp  of  Andross.  He  then 
ordered  them  to  form  around  the  Court-house  in  a  semicircle. 
The  stampmaster  was  set  in  a  conspicuous  place,  and  com 
manded  to  read  his  recantation  aloud  in  the  hearing  of  the 
Assembly  and  in  the  presence  of  the  people.  He  went 
through  the  ceremony  to  the  universal  satisfaction  of  the 
audience ;  and  after  the  shout  of  liberty  and  property  had 
been  again  followed  by  a  round  of  hearty  cheers,  these  lords 
of  the  soil,  whose  ancestors  had  helped  to  frame  the  Consti 
tution  of  1639,  returned  to  their  farms  to  pray  for  the  King 
and  to  supplicate  heaven  that  the  eyes  of  the  Ministry  might 
be  opened  to  repeal  the  unhallowed  and  execrable  Stamp 
Act. 

"  A  suspicion  having  been  awakened  that,  notwithstanding 
the  public  resignation,  Ingersoll  might  still  undertake  the 
exercise  of  his  office,  he  made  this  further  public  renuncia 
tion: 

"  '  Whereas,  I  have  lately  received  two  anonymous  letters 
calling  on  me  (among  other  things)  to  give  the  public  some 
further  assurance  with  regard  to  my  intentions  about  exer 
cising  the  office  of  distributor  of  stamps  for  this  Colony  as 
some  others  have  done  since  receiving  our  commissions  or 
deputations  of  office  for  that  purpose;  and  that  I  confirm 
the  same  by  oath.  And  although  I  don't  think  it  best  ordi 
narily  to  take  notice  of  such  letters,  nor  yet  to  take  oaths 
upon  such  kind  of  occasions,  yet,  as  I  have  good  reason  to 
think  those  letters  came  from  a  large  number  of  people  be 
longing  to  this  Colony,  and  do  respect  a  subject  of  a  very 
interesting  nature,  and  the  present  times  being  peculiarly 
difficult  and  critical,  and  I  myself  at  no  loss  or  difficulty 
about  making  known  my  resolutions  and  intentions  respect 
ing  the  matters  aforesaid  I  have  concluded  to  make  the 
following  declaration,  and  to  confirm  the  same  by  an  oath ; 
that  is  to  say : 

' "  1.  I  never  was,  nor  am  now,  desirous  or  even  willing  to 
hold  or  exercise  the  aforesaid  office  contrary  to  the  mind 
and  inclination  of  the  general  body  of  people  in  this  Colony. 

k'  '2.  I  have  for  some  time  been,  and  still  am,  persuaded 
that  it  is  the  general  opinion  and  sentiment  of  the  people  of 
this  Colony  (after  mature  deliberation)  that  the  Stamp  Act 
is  an  infringement  of  their  rights  and  dangerous  to  their 
liberties ;  and  therefore  I  am  riot  willing,  nor  will  I,  for  that 
and  other  good  and  sufficient  reasons,  as  I  suppose  (and 
which  I  hope  and  trust  will  excuse  me  to  those  who  ap 
pointed  me),  exercise  the  said  office  against  such  general 
opinion  and  sentiment  of  the  people ;  and,  generally,  and  in 
a  word,  will  never  at  all,  by  myself  or  otherwise,  officiate 
under  my  said  deputation.  And  as  I  have,  so  I  will,  in  the 


30  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

most  effectual  manner  I  am  able,  apply  to  the  proper  board 
in  England  for  a  dismission  from  my  said  office  . 

'  k  J.  INGERSOLL.' 


HAVEN,  ) 
Jan.  8,  1766.     \m 

'"Then  personally  appeared  Jared  Ingersoll,  Esqr.,  and 
made  oath  to  the  truth  of  the  foregoing  declaration  by  him 
subscribed  before  me.  DAVID  LYMAN, 

'"Justice  Peace.'" 

Col.  Putnam  was  one  of  the  principal  instigators  of  these 
proceedings,  but  circumstances  prevented  him  from  being 
present.  He  was  deputed,  however,  to  wait  on  the  Gov 
ernor,  Fitch,  and  express  to  him  the  sentiments  of  the  peo 
ple.  The  following  is  the  report  of  their  interview  : 

"Governor  —  '  What  shall  I  do  if  the  stamped  paper  should 
be  sent  to  me  by  the  King's  authority  ?' 

"Putnam  —  'Lock  it  up  until  we  [meaning  probably  the 
Sons  of  Liberty]  shall  visit  you  again.' 

"Governor—'  And  what  will  you  do  then  ?' 

"Putnam—'  "We  shall  expect  you  to  give  us  the  key  to  the 
room  in  which  it  is  deposited  ;  and  if  you  think  fit,  in  order 
to  screen  yourself  from  blame,  you  may  forewarn  us  upon 
our  peril  not  to  enter  the  room.' 

"Governor—  'And  what  will  you  do  afterwards  ?' 

"Putnam  —  'Send  it  safely  back  again.' 

"Governor  —  'But  if  I  should  refuse  admission  ?' 

"Putnam—  'Your  house  will  be  levelled  with  the  dust  in 
five  minutes  '" 

Thus  ended  the  colloquy.  It  was  soon  repeated  in  New 
York,  and  alarmed  those  agents,  who  had  charge  of  this 
contraband  property,  to  such  a  degree  that  they  did  not  dare 
to  send  their  freight  into  Connecticut."  Hollister,  vol.  II, 
pages  133-139. 

In  the  spring  of  1766,  some  vessels  arrived  with  stamped 
paper  on  board,  which  was  deposited  in  the  custom-house  at 
New  London.  The  collector  was  immediately  waited  on  by 
the  Sons  of  Liberty,  who  demanded  the  obnoxious  freight. 
It  was  promptly  delivered  into  their  hands.  A  mock  court 
was  held  ;  the  stamp  paper  was  arraigned,  tried,  and  found 
guilty.  Sentence  of  whipping  and  burning  was  passed,  and 
the  punishment  summarily  inflicted. 

NEW  YORK. 

On  December  11,  1764,  the  Lords  of  Trade  made  a  repre 
sentation  to  the  King  on  certain  proceedings  of  Massachusetts 
and  New  York.  They  complain  of  the  resolutions  adopted 
by  the  Massachusettss  Assembly,  and  also  of  a  letter  ot  in 
structions  to  their  agent,  which  had  not  the  consent  and 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  31 

approbation  of  the  Governor  and  Council.  It  is  alleged  that 
the  letter  treated  the  acts  and  resolutions  of  the  legislature 
of  Great  Britain  with  "the  most  indecent  disrespect,"  and 
that  u  principles  of  the  most  dangerous  nature  and  tendency" 
were  "  openly  avowed,"  and  that  the  Assemblies  of  the  other 
Colonies  were  invited  uin  most  extraordinary  manner  to 
adopt  the  same  opinions.  We  think  it  our  duty  humbly  to 
lay  these  votes  before  your  Majesty,"  etc. 

"We  likewise  crave  leave  humbly  to  lay  before  your 
Majesty  the  copy  of  an  address  of  the  assembly  of  New 
York  to  the  Lieutenant-governor  of  that  Province,  and  of  his 
prudent  and  becoming  answer  thereto;  in  which  address 
the  said  Assembly  avow  opinions  and  make  declarations  of 
the  same  dangerous  tendency  with  those  of  the  Assembly  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay. 

"  These  proceedings  which  are,  in  our  judgment,  calculated 
to  raise  groundless  suspicion  and  distrust  in  the  minds  of 
your  Majesty's  good  subjects  in  the  Colonies,  and  have  the 
strongest  tendency  to  subvert  those  principles  of  constitu 
tional  relation  and  dependence  upon  which  the  Colonies 
were  originally  established,  contain  certain  matter  of  so 
high  importance  that  we  shall  not  presume  to  offer  any 
opinion  what  may  be  proper  to  be  done  thereupon."  These 
resolutions  of  the  Assembly  were  made  with  reference  to  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  claimed  the  exclusive  right  of  the  Colonies 
to  tax  themselves. 

About  the  same  time  an  angry  controversy  arose  between 
the  Governor  and  Council  on  one  side,  and  the  Supreme 
Court,  backed  by  the  bar,  on  the  other,  relative  to  the  right 
of  appeal  from  the  Supreme  Court  to  the  Governor  and 
Council.  The  Chief  Justice,  Horsmanden,  refused  to  grant 
appeals.  Governor  Colden  regarded  this  as  a  matter  "of 
the  greatest  consequence  to  his  Majesty's  authority  in  this 
Province,  and  to  the  dependence  of  the  Colonies  on  the 
Crown  of  Great  Britain."  He  accordingly  wrote  a  long 
representation  of  the  case  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  and  ap 
pealed  to  them  for  protection,  admitting  that  the  authority 
of  government  had  become  so  weakened  that  he  felt  no 
longer  safe.  This  controversy  grew  out  of  the  ' '  Instructions 
to  his  Governor  of  this  Province,  whereby  the  Governor  or 
Commander-in-chief  is  directed,  in  all  civil  causes,  on  appli 
cation  being  made  to  him  for  that  purpose,  to  permit  and 
allow  of  appeals  from  any  of  the  courts  of  common  law  unto 
the  Governor  and  Council, "  etc. 

These  instructions,  of  course,  were  in  violation  of  char 
tered  rights  and  the  rights  of  Englishmen.  The  Governor, 
in  his  letter  to  Earl  Halifax  on  this  subject,  admits  that  he 
"is  no  lawyer"  in  the  very  act  of  contending  that  appeals 
should  be  taken  from  courts  "learned  in  the  law"  to  his 
jurisdiction. 


32  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

The  Attorney -general,  Mr.  Kemp,  "absolutely  refused  to 
advise  or  assist  in  the  support  of  his  Majesty's  instructions," 
and  Justice  Livingston  is  accused  of  having  an  interest  in 
the  great  land  patents.  The  Governor  suggests  to  his  Lord 
ship  that  the  Chief  Justice,  Justice  Livingston,  and  Attorney- 
general  Kemp  be  summarily  removed  from  office. 

But  the  Lieutenant-governor  was  not  sustained  by  the 
Lords  of  Trade  and  the  King.  The  instructions  were  modi 
fied  so  as  to  provide  for  appeals  only  in  cases  of  error ;  and  it 
was  even  pretended,  while  receding  from  their  original 
ground,  that  the  omission  of  the  restraining  words  was  acci 
dental.  At  the  same  time,  by  implication,  a  rebuke  was 
administered  to  the  Lieutenant- go vernor  for  having  con 
strued  his  instructions  literally. 

What  has  been  stated  in  regard  to  the  controversy  about 
appeals  is  a  digression;  but  it  will  be  excused,  as  it  serves  to 
illustrate  the  temper  and  spirit  of  the  people  of  New  York 
at  the  perio'd  referred  to. 

In  a  letter  dated  New  York,  September  23,  1765,  Lieu 
tenant-governor  Golden  says:  "Soon  after  it  was  known 
that  stamp  duties  were  by  act  of  Parliament  to  be  paid  in 
the  Colonies,  virulent  papers  were  published  in  the  weekly 
newspapers  filled  with  every  falsehood  that  malice  could 
invent  to  serve  their  purpose  of  exciting  the  people  to  diso 
bedience  of  the  laws,  and  to  sedition.  At  first  they  only 
denied  the  authority  of  Parliament  to  lay  internal  taxes  in 
the  Colonies,  but  at  last  they  have  denied  the  legislative 
authority  of  the  Parliament  in  the  Colonies,  and  these  papers 
continue  to  be  published." 

The  stamp-distributor,  Mr.  McEwers,  was  so  terrified  by 
the  news  from  Boston  of  the  treatment  of  Oliver  that  he 
resigned  the  office  while  the  storm  was  yet  brewing  and 
before  it  broke  upon  him.  In  his  letter  of  resignation 
addressed  to  Lieutenant-governor  Colden,  he  says:  "Since 
the  late  riot  at  Boston  and  the  inflammatory  papers  lately 
printed  in  the  Colonies,  people  of  this  city  are  so  incensed 
against  me  as  a  distributor  of  stamps  for  this  Province 
that  I  find  it  will  be  attended  with  the  greatest  risk  of  my 
person  and  fortune  to  attempt,  and  indeed  impossible  for  me, 
to  execute  the  office.  To  prevent  the  same  cruel  fate  Mr. 
Oliver  met  with  at  Boston  (as  I  had  certain  information 
from  several  of  my  particular  friends  that  a  storm  was 
rising  and  I  should  soon  feel  it),  I  have  been  under  the 
necessity  of  declaring  that  I  had  declined  the  office,  and 
have  accordingly  wrote  to  the  commissioners  signifying  that 
I  cannot  submit  to  a  service  that  will  be  attended  with  very 
dangerous  consequences  upon  the  very  first  attempt  to 
officiate."  The  date  of  this  letter*  is  not  given,  but  is  en 
closed  in  one  from  Governor  Colden  to  Secretary  Conway, 
of  September  23,  1765. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  33 

The  people  of  New  York  were  in  a  very  excited  frame  of 
mind  at  this  time,  and  had  been  for  a  year  past,  as  appears 
from  the  letter  of  the  Lords  of  Trade,  of  December  llth  of 
the  year  previous,  already  quoted ;  and  it  is  manifest  from 
Colden's  letter  that  he  shared  in  the  fears  which  drove  the 
stampmaster  into  resignation.  He  made  his  home  in  Fort 
George,  and  as  far  back  as  the  month  of  May  he  represented 
to  the  general  (Gage),  he  "could  not  answer  for  the  safety 
of  his  Majesty's  fort  in  its  present  state  from  a  mob  or  from 
the  negroes,  in  consequence  of  which  he  ordered  a  company 
of  the  Sixtieth  Regiment  from  Crown  Point,  which  arriveo. 
in  July."  A  new  supply  of  ammunition  and  arms  was  also 
brought  in. 

* '  It  is  evident, ''  says  Golden,  ' '  that  a  secret  correspondence 
has  been  carried  on  throughout  all  the  Colonies,  and  that  it 
has  been  concerted  to  deter  by  violence  the  distributors  of 
stamps  from  executing  their  office,  and  to  destroy  the 
stamped  paper  when  it  arrives. " 

The  stamps  at  length  arrived  in  the  ship  Edward,  and  was 
carefully  guarded  until  it  reached  the  fort,  where  it  was 
under  the  protection  of  its  guns  and  of  his  Majesty's  ships- 
of-war.  After  much  difficulty  and  delay,  the  stamps  were 
removed  to  the  fort.  The  night  after  the  arrival  of  the 
vessel  with  the  stamps,  a  paper  was  posted  on  every  public- 
house  and  at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  of  which  the  follow 
ing  is  a  copy : 

"Pro  Patria. 

"The  first  man  that  either  distributes  or  makes  use  of 
stamp  paper,  let  him  take  care  of  his  house,  person,  and 
effects.  We  Dare.  Vox  POPULI." 

The  following  letter  from  Lieutenant-governor  Colden  to 
the  Lords  of  Trade  furnishes  a  pretty  clear  idea  of  two  sub 
sequent  proceedings  of  the  people  of  New  York  in  regard  to 
the  Stamp  Act : 

."  NEW  YORK,  6th  Dec.,  1765. 

"MY  LORDS: 

"The  deputy  secretary  informs  me  that  Sir  Henry 
Moore  has  transmitted  to  your  lordships  copies  of  the 
minutes  of  Council  which  have  reference  to  the  riots  which 
lately  happened  in  the  city  of  New  York,  but,  if  I  mistake 
not,  that  the  minutes  in  the  beginning  of  September  were 
omitted.  I  now  inclose  a  copy  of  those  minutes  from  a  copy 
which  I  now  have  with  me  at  my  residence  in  the  country, 
because  without  them  your  lordships'  information  cannot  be 
complete. 

* '  From  the  minutes  of  Council  of  the  4th  and  7th  of  Septem 
ber,  it  appears  that  General  Gage,  as  well  as  myself,  was  of 


34  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

opinion  that  the  assistance  of  the  regular  troops  was  neces 
sary  for  securing  the  city  from  riots  and  tumults.  The 
daringly  seditious  papers  which  the  general  mentions  in  his 
letter,  continually  published,  and  which  the  civil  power 
could  not  suppress,  made  this  appear  necessary  to  both 
of  us,  tho'  we  yielded  to  the  opinion  and  advice  of  the 
Council.  What  has  happened  since  shows  that  the  Council 
erred  in  their  judgment ;  for  certainly  it  would  have  been 
much  easier  to  prevent  the  first  appearance  of  any  mob,  by 
a  force  sufficient  to  deter  them,  than  to  suppress  riots  and 
mobs  without  such  force. 

"  It  is  necessary  to  relate  particularly  what  I  afterwards 
did,  that  your  lordships  may  judge  whether  I  gave  any  just 
occasion  for  the  riots  which  succeeded. 

"  On  the  23d  of  October,  the  ship,  Edward,  William  Davis, 
commander,  arrived  in  the  river,  with  packages  of  stamped 
paper  and  parchments  on  board.  The  mob,  threatening  to 
destroy  the  ship  and  cargo  if  the  stamped  paper  was  not 
delivered  to  them,  and  as  these  packages  were  intermixed 
with  other  goods  in  the  hold,  the  master  and  owner  of  the 
ship  proposed  to  me  to  hire  a  sloop  to  take  the  merchants' 
goods  on  board,  and  to  land  them  till  the  packages  could  be 
come  at ;  but  no  sloop  would  hire  at  any  rate.  On  which  I 
told  the  master  and  owner  to  go  to  the  wharf  and  unload  as 
usual,  and  that  I  would  give  directions  to  the  magistrates  to 
secure  them  from  any  insult ;  but  they,  answering  that  they 
apprehended  the  ship  and  cargo  would  be  in  danger  by  so 
doing,  they  desired,  with  the  approbation  of  the  merchants 
who  had  goods  on  board,  that  I  should  desire  the  frigate 
under  whose  protection  the  ship  was,  to  assist  them  in 
removing  the  goods  till  the  packages  of  stamped  paper  could 
be  come  at  and  put  on  board  the  frigate,  which  was  accord 
ingly  done  with  the  apparent  satisfaction  of  all  who  were 
interested  in  the  ship  and  cargo. 

u  The  packages  were  afterwards  landed  at  noon-day  from 
the  frigate,  and  carried  into  the  Fort  without  any  guard, 
and  remained  there  without  any  public  discontent  appearing 
till  the  last  day  of  October,  when  I,  in  Council,  took  the  oath 
enjoined  by  act  of  Parliament. 

4 '  In  the  night  of  the  1st  of  November,  a  great  riot  happened, 
consisting  of  several  thousands  of  people.  A  great  number 
of  boys  carried  lighted  torches,  followed  by  a  scaffold  on 
which  was  placed  two  images,  one  representing  their  old, 
gray-haired  Governor,  and  the  other  the  Devil  whispering  in 
his  ear.  They  came  up  close  to  the  fort  gate,  and,  in  going 
from  it,  broke  open  my  coach-house,  took  out  my  chariot, 
carried  it  round  the  streets  of  the  town,  with  the  images,  re 
turned  a  second  time  to  the  fort  gate,  and  then  carried  the 
images  to  an  open  place  about  100  yards  from  it,  where  they 
were  hung  up  some  time  on  a  gibbet,  afterwards  cut  down, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  35 

and  burnt  in  a  fire  prepared  for  the  purpose,  together  with 
my  chariot  and  some  other  carriages  found  in  my  coach 
house,  and  all  the  furniture  of  my  stables.  When  the  im 
ages  were  brought  up  to  the  fort,  the  garrison  were  on  the 
ramparts.  Notwithstanding  the  grossest  ribaldry  of  the 
mob,  and  many  stones  thrown  into  the  fort,  not  a  single 
word  was  returned  from  any  man  in  it.  After  they  had 
finished  this  insult,  they  went  to  Major  James'  house,  de 
stroyed  everything  in  it,  without  leaving  him  and  his  lady 
more  than  the  clothes  on  their  backs. 

' '  The  next  day  letters  and  messages  were  sent  in  to  me, 
threatening  my  life  if  I  did  not  deliver  up  stamped  papers. 
By  advice  of  Council— I  very  readily  declared  that  I  would 
not  distribute  them ;  in  truth,  it  was  not  in  my  power  to  do 
it — but  deliver  them  to  Sir  Henry  Moore  when  he  arrived. 
This  gave  satisfaction  to  great  numbers,  who  in  the  most 
open  manner  declared  their  satisfaction ;  but  the  principal 
leaders  declared  themselves  not  satisfied,  and  insisted  that 
the  stamped  papers  should  be  put  on  board  the  Coventry, 
commanded  by  Captain  Kennedy.  This  I  did  not  oppose ; 
but  Captain  Kennedy  absolutely  refused  to  receive  them, 
and  with  good  reason,  for  he  was  aware  of  their  design  to 
force  him  to  deliver  them  to  the  mob,  by  threatening  to  de 
stroy  the  houses  he  was  possessed  [of]  in  the  city,  of  which 
he  has  in  his  own  and  his  wife's  right  more  than  perhaps 
any  one  man  in  it. 

* k  While  these  things  were  transacting,  the  engineers  put  the 
fort  into  tlie  best  state  of  defence  and  offence.  The  mob  re 
newed  their  threats  against  the  fort,  and  that  they  would 
assault  it  to  come  at  the  stamped  papers.  The  men  of 
greatest  property,  and  the  magistrates  of  the  city,  seeing 
that,  from  the  posture  the  fort  was  then  in,  the  destruction 
of  great  part  of  the  city  must  be  the  consequence  of  such  an 
attempt,  humbly  deprecated  to  save  the  city  from  desolation. 
At  last  I  consented  to  deliver  up  the  stamped  paper  to  the 
mayor  and  corporation  of  the  city,  as  appears  by  the  min 
utes  of  Council;  after  which  the  mob  entirely  dispersed, 
and  the  city  remained  in  perfect  tranquillity  till  I.  delivered 
up  the  administration  to  Sir  Henry  Moore.  .  .'  . 
"  My  Lords,  your  most  obd't,  &c., 

[Signed.  ]  ' '  CADWALLADER  COLDEN.  " 

On  the  21st  December  the  Governor,  Sir  Henry  Moore,  in 
a  letter  to  Earl  Dartmouth,  gives  a  gloomy  picture  of  affairs : 
"  The  whole  Province  is  now  smarting  very  severely  for  the 
late  rash  proceedings  in  regard  to  the  Stamp  Act;  your 
Lordship  may  very  well  imagine  this,  upon  being  informed 
that  all  our -courts  are  shut  up,  and  that  no  vessel  is  per 
mitted  to  go  out  of  the  harbor,  so  that  it  is  morally  impos 
sible  that  the  people  here  can  subsist  any  time  under  such 


36  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

inconveniences  as  they  have  brought  on  themselves."  He 
was  persuaded  that  "  the  distresses  that  must  attend  the  sus 
pension  of  the  law  will  facilitate  the  carrying  it  into  execu 
tion,  more  than  any  attempts  I  could  possibly  make  in  its 
favor,"  etc. 

Both  the  Governor  and  Lieutenant-governer  bent  before 
the  storm  a  great  deal  more  than  they  were  willing  to  admit 
in  plain  words.  We  have  seen  that  Golden  surrendered  the 
stamps,  on  the  demand  of  the  mob,  to  the  corporate  author 
ities  of  the  city,  and  that  he  made  a  solemn  declaration  and 
promise  that  he  would  do  nothing  further  towards  the  en 
forcement  of  the  Stamp  Act  until  the  arrival  of  Governor 
Moore,  when  his  powers  were  to  cease.  This  promise  was 
made  only  a  day  or  two  after  his  oath  was  taken  before  the 
Council,  in  obedience  to  the  law,  that  he  would  do  all  in  his 
power  to  enforce  it.  For  the  promise  thus  given,  in  the  face 
of  his  oath,  he  was  severely  censured  by  the  secretary,  Con- 
way  ;  though  in  other  respects  his  conduct  was  approved. 
Governor  Moore  was  as  complaisant  to  the  mob  as  the  Lieu 
tenant-governor  had  been,  which  the  latter  takes  pleasure 
in  making  known  in  his  correspondence  with  Con  way.  He 
writes,  December  13th,  while  the  mob  was  in  the  zenith  of  its 
power,  that  Sir  Henry  Moore,  the  Governor,  "  takes  every 
method  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  people,  with  what 
success  in  allaying  the  seditious  spirit  will  appear  from  the 
public  transactions.  The  fort  is  dismantled — everything 
which  May  or  James  introduced  of  artillery,  stores,  and  gun 
powder  removed  out  of  it. " 

Governor  Moore,-  on  the  other  hand,  modestly  refrains 
from  stating  what  he  had  done  to  pacify  the  people ;  but 
contents  himself  with  saying  that  ' '  My  arrival  has  in  some 
measure  restored  tranquillity,  but  you  will  perceive,  by  the 
minutes  of  the  Council^  here  inclosed,  that  I  am  not  to  be 
supported  in  the  execution  of  the  act,  and  that  their  (the 
councillors)  apprehensions  of  future  disturbances  have  in 
fluenced  all  the  opinions  they  have  given  me  on  this  occa 
sion.  In  consequence  of  their  resolutions,  I  am  obliged  to 
suspend  a  power  which  I  am  not  able  to  exert  without  their 
assistance,  and  to  make  a  merit  of  acting  in  a  manner  which 
carries  no  other  recommendation  with  it  but  that  of  not  ex 
posing  the  weakness  of  our  government. "  He  further  states 
that  the  outrages  in  all  parts  of  the  country  had  frightened 
the  stampmasters  into  resignation,  and  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  supply  their  places. 

In  a  letter  dated  January  14,  1766,  Colden  writes  to  Con- 
way  as  follows : 

"  The  design  of  the  present  ruling  faction  in  this  Province 
is  to  make  me  an  example,  to  deter  all  succeeding  Governors 
and  officers  of  the  Crown  from  opposing  their  domination. 
I  have  already  informed  you,  sir,  that  this  faction  is  com- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  37 

posed  of  the  lawyers  and  men  of  enormous  landed  estates, 
who  have  obtained  an  absolute  influence  in  the  Assembly. 
In  the  last  act  for  granting  salaries  to  the  officers  of  govern 
ment,  the  Assembly  have  deprived  me  of  my  salary  from 
the  time  the  preceding,  act  expired  to  the  time  Sir  Henry 
Moore  arrived,  which,  at  the  rate  the  Governor's  salary  is 
fixed  by  the  last  act,  amounts  to  four  hundred  pounds  in 
the  currency  of  this  Province,"  etc. 

Destruction  of  Stamps. 

January  16, 1766,  Governor  Moore  writes  to  Secretary  Con- 
way,  as  follows : 

"  The  >day  before  I  had  the  honor  of  your  letter  of  the  24th 
October,  a  vessel  arrived  here  from  England,  having  on 
board  some  stamped  papers  for  this  Province  and  Connecti 
cut,  which  in  the  following  night,  were  forcibly  taken  out  of 
the  ship  and  destroyed.  This  proceeding,  so  contrary  to 
what  I  had  reason  to  expect,"  etc. 

The  Governor  admits  that  he  was  powerless  to  punish  or 
prevent  the  disorders. 

The  foregoing  account  of  the  action  of  the  people  of  New 
York  with  reference  to  the  Stamp  Act  has  been  derived 
from  the  valuable  historical  collection  entitled  "Documents 
Relating  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State  of  New  York." 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  authorities  were  all  adverse  to  the 
rights  of  the  people.  But  after  a  successful  revolution,  the 
allegations  and  arraignments  made  by  the  discomfited 
minions  of  despotism  became  records  and  monuments  of 
the  courage  and  patriotism  of  the  accused. 


NEW  JERSEY. 

The  following  account  of  the  action  of  New  Jersey  with 
reference  to  the  Stamp  Act  is  taken  from  a  discourse  read 
before  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  in  the  year  1848, 
by  Richard  S.  Field,  Esq. '  Though  styled  a  discourse,  it  is 
a  book  in  proportions,  with  an  appendix,  as  it  appears,  beau 
tifully  printed,  in  the  collections  of  the  New  Jersey  Histori 
cal  Society;  the  subject  being,  "The  Provincial  Courts  of 
New  Jersey,  with  Sketches  of  the  Bench  and  Bar:" 

"New  Jersey  shared  with  her  sister-Colonies  in  the 
indignation  and  alarm  which  was  occasioned  by  the  passage 
of  the  Stamp  Act ;  and  nowhere  did  it  encounter  a  more  vig 
orous  though  peaceful  resistance.  The  lawyers  of  New 
Jersey  were  the  first  to  adopt  measures  for  systematic  oppo 
sition  to  the  use  of  stamps.  At  the  September  term  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  1765,  a  meeting  of  the  bar  was  held  at 
Amboy  for  the  purpose  of  considering  what  step  it  would  be 
proper  to  pursue  upon  the  arrival  of  the  stamps,  which  were 


38  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

then  shortly  expected.  There  was  a  full  and  general  attend 
ance  ;  and  after  a  free  interchange  of  sentiment,  it  was  unan 
imously  resolved  that  they  would  not  consent  to  make  use 
of  the  stamps  under  any  circumstances  or  for  any  purpose 
whatever.  The  effect  of  such  a  resolution  was  to  put  an 
entire  stop  to  the  transaction  of  all  legal  business,  and  thus 
render  the  odious  act  wholly  unproductive  as  a  source  of 
revenue.  It  was  the  most  efficient  measure,  therefore,  that 
could  have  been  adopted,  and  the  more  creditable  to  them 
as  they  were  likely  to  be  the  principal  sufferers  by  it.  Their 
wise  and  patriotic  example  was  much  applauded  at  the  time, 
and  was  soon  followed  in  other  Colonies ;  but,  like  every 
thing  else  of  interest  and  importance  connected  with  New 
Jersey,  *it  hardly  receives  a  passing  notice  on  the  page  of 
American  history.  The  truth  is,  Massachusetts  and  Vir 
ginia  seem  to  have  monopolized,  in  a  great  measure,  all  the 
glory  of  the  Revolution. 

"On  the  20th  of  September,  the  day  after  this  meeting, 
Chief  Justice  Smyth  desired  the  members  of  the  bar  to  at 
tend  him  in  a  body,  that  he  might  lay  before  them  some 
matters  for  their  consideration.  A  report  had  been  in  circu 
lation  that  he  had  solicited  the  appointment  of  distributor 
of  stamps.  This  he  denied  upon  his  honor.  After  setting 
himself  right  on  that  point,  he  proceeded  to  propose  to  them 
certain  questions,  to  which  he  desired  a  separate  answer 
from  each. 

"The  first  was:  'Whether,  if  the  stamps  should  arrive 
and  be  placed  at  the  city  of  Burlington,  by  or  after  the  1st 
of  November,  they  would,  as  practitioners,  agree  to  purchase 
them  for  their  necessary  legal  proceedings  ?'  To  this  they 
answered,  '  that  they  would  not,  but  rather  suffer  their  pri 
vate  interests  to  give  way  to  the  public  good,  protesting 
against  all  riotous  proceedings,' 

"The  next  question  was:  'Whether,  in  their  opinion,  the 
duties  could  possibly  be  paid  in  gold  and  silver  ?' 

[It  was  about  this  time  that  an  order  from  the  board  of 
trade  required  the  payment  of  all  duties  in  gold  and  silver.] 

"  They  answered,  '  that  they  could  not  be  paid  in  gold  and 
silver,  even  for  one  year.' 

' '  The  last  question  was :  '  Whether,  as  the  act  required  the 
Governor  and  Chief  Justice  to  superintend  the  distribution 
of  stamps,  he  would  be  obliged  to  accept  the  appointment  of 
distributor  in  case  the  Governor  should  fix  upon  him  for 
that  office  ?'  Their  answer  was,  '  that  the  Governor  was 
not  empowered  by  the  act  to  appoint ;  that  if  he  was,  it  was 
left  to  the  option  of  the  Chief  Justice  whether  to  accept  or 
noc;  and  that  it  would  be  incompatible  with  his  office  as 
Chief  Justice.' 

"The  Chief  Justice  seems  to  have  been  entirely  satisfied 
with  these  answers,  and  to  have  acted  upon  the  advice  thus 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  39 

given  him.  In  fact,  before  the  arrival  of  the  day  on  which 
the  act  was  to  take  effect,  every  distributor  of  stamps  in 
America  had  resigned.  The  effect  of  these  proceedings  was 
to  produce  a  complete  cessation  of  all  legal  business.  The 
stamps  arrived,  but  no  one  would  purchase  them.  The 
courts  of  justice  were  shut  up. 

"But  this  state  of  things  could  not  last  long.  The  people 
were  becoming  impatient  of  its  continuance,  and  tired  of 
mere  passive  resistance.  Associations  had  sprung  up  in 
nearly  all  the  Colonies  under  the  titles  of  'Sons  of  Liberty,' 
who  were  in  favor  of  setting  the  provisions  of  the  act 'at 
open  defiance.  Efforts  were  made  to  induce  the  lawyers  of 
New  Jersey  to  transact  business  without  the  use  of  stamps. 
Another  meeting  of  the  bar  was  proposed.  Heretofore,  all 
had  been  done  in  perfect  harmony.  There  had  not  been  a 
single  dissenting  voice.  But  now,  the  line  began  for  the  first 
time  to  be  drawn,  between  those  who  thought  they  had  gone 
far  enough^  and  those  who  were  willing  to  go  further.  We 
have  a  letter  from  David  Ogden  to  Philip  Kearney,  in  which 
he  declares  himself  opposed  to  another  meeting  of  the  bar, 
and  expresses  the  hope  that  they  would  continue  to  pursue 
the  peaceful  method  they  had  adopted,  until  the  Stamp  Act 
was  repealed. 

"The  meeting  nevertheless  took  place.  It  was  held  at 
New  Brunswick  on  the  13th  of  February,  1766.  The  Sons 
of  Liberty  to  the  number  of  several  hundred  took  care  to 
be  present  at  the  same  time,  and  united  in  a  written  request 
to  the  members  of  the  bar,  urging  them  to  proceed  to  busi 
ness  as  usual  without  stamps,  and  to  use  their  influence  to 
have  the  courts  of  justice  opened.  The  meeting,  while  they 
agreed  to  preserve  that  happy  state  of  tranquillity  which 
had  thus  far  been  maintained  in  the  Province,  at  the 
same  time  resolved  that,  if  the  Stamp  Act  was  not  repealed 
by  the  first  day  of  April  following,  they  would  resume  their 
practice  as  usual.  And  they  appointed  a  committee  of  two  to 
wait  upon  the  Sons  of  Liberty  and  assure  them  that,  if  the 
act  was  not  suspended  or  repealed,  they  would  join  them  in 
opposing  it  with  their  lives  and  fortunes. 

"  These  were  bold  and  spirited  resolutions.  Even  in  Mas 
sachusetts—generally  in  advance  of  the  Colonies— the  most 
patriotic  of  the  lawyers  deemed  it  impossible  to  conduct  ju 
dicial  business  in  open  disregard  of  an  act  of  Parliament, 
however  uniust  or  tyrannical  it  might  be ;  and  nothing  but  a 
resolution  or  the  Assembly  emboldened  them  to  venture  upon 
such  a  step.  .  .  . 

"Before  the  arrival  of  the  day,  however,  named  in  the 
resolutions  of  the  bar  of  New  Jersey,  the  Stamp  Act  was  re 
pealed,  and  all  further  proceedings  upon  their  part  became 
unnecessary." 

From  the  Index  to  Colonial  Documents,  it  appears  that 


40  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

William  Coxe,  stamp-distributor,  tendered  his  resignation 
of  the  office,  Sept.  3,  1765 ;  and  that  the  Sons  of  Liberty  of 
Woodbridge  and  Piscatoway  '  'were  particularly  prominent  in 
inducing  "  his  resignation.  September  4th,  Governor  Frank 
lin  replied  that  as  he  (Coxe) '  *  made  application  for  the  office, " 
he  ought  to  hold  onto  it,  and  would  be  held  responsible  for 
the  papers.  September  14th,  Governor  Franklin  writes  to 
General  Gage,  informing  him  of  the  resignation  of  the  stamp- 
distributor,  and  asking  him  if  he  could  have  the  aid  of  the 
military  if  he  should  find  it  necessary  to  call  on  him. 

September  16th,  Gage  replies  that  the  Governor  may  de 
pend  on  one  hundred  men,  with  proper  officers,  ready  to 
march  to  New  Jersey,  on  his  requisition,  to  preserve  good 
order  in  the  Province. 

Governor  Franklin  wrote  the  British  Secretary  of  State, 
Con  way,  October  10th,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  man 
to  take  the  place  of  Coxe,  as  stamp-distributor,  and,  Novem 
ber  13,  that  the  people  of  New  Jersey  would  be 'sure  to  fol 
low  the  seditious  example  set  in  other  Colonies  in  resistance 
to  the  Stamp  Act.  He  also  refers  to  the  agreement  entered 
into  by  the  lawyers ;  and  states,  at  the  preceding  term  of  the 
supreme  court,  only  criminal  matters  were  attended  to. 

November  30th,  Governor  Franklin  wrote  Con  way  that 
the  infection  was  spreading,  with  regard  to  the  Stamp  Act, 
and  had  reached  New  Jersey.  No  riots  had  been  committed, 
but  the  most  prudent  management  was  necessary  to  prevent 
them. 

The  New  Jersey  Assembly  had  refused  to  send  delegates 
to  the  general  Congress  at  New  York  to  protest  against  the 
Stamp  Act ;  but  December  9th,  the  committee  of  correspond 
ence  of  the  Assembly  transmitted  copies  of  the  petitions  to 
the  King  and  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  agreed  to  by 
the  Congress  in  New  York.  The  Assembly  also  approved 
the  proceedings  of  the  Congress. 

December  18th,  Governor  Franklin,  in  a  letter  to  the  board 
of  trade,  says  that,  notwithstanding  the  Assembly  refused  to 
send  a  committee  of  delegates  to  the  Congress  at  New  York, 
the  Speaker  (Robert  Ogden)  ' '  summoned  the  House  to  oblige 
the  people  of  east  Jersey,  and  prevailed  upon  them  to  choose 
three;  but  refusing  to  be  one  of  the  committee,  he  was 
burned  in  effigy  in  almost  all  the  towns  of  East  Jersey, 
which  induced  him  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  Assembly ;  the 
minutes  of  Council  and  Assembly  contain  particulars  of 
the  Assembly's  further  proceedings ;  the  Stamp  Act  has  not 
been  yet  carried  into  execution — the  officers  dare  not  do  it 
for  fear  of  being  torn  to  pieces  by  the  mob ;  the  stamps  are 
still  on  board  the  man-of-war;  the  business  is  at  a  stand 
still." 

March  1,  1766,  Con  way  sent  a  circular-letter  to  the  sev 
eral  Governors  in  North  America— could  give  no  advice 


THE  BIHTEC  Off  TEE  REPUBLIC}.  41 

how  to  act  in  the  perplexed  state  of  things;  a  bill  had  been 
brought  into  Parliament,  and  had  made  some  progress,  for 
the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 

March  31st,  Conway,  writes  another  circular-letter  an 
nouncing  the  repeal  of  the  act. 

This  ended  the  controversy  on  the  Stamp  Act. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  following  account  of  the  reception  which  the  Stamp 
Act  met  with  in  Pennsylvania  is  taken  from  Hazzard's 
Eegister,  which  credits  it  to  the  publication  known  as  "  Prior 
Documents. "  The  act  was  passed  by  the  British  Parliament, 
as  has  already  been  stated,  in  March,  1765 ;  and  the  General 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  which  met  in  Philadelphia  in 
September  adopted  the  following  resolutions : 

' '  The  House,  taking  into  consideration  that  an  act  of  Par 
liament  has  lately  passed  in  England,  for  imposing  certain 
stamp  duties  and  other  duties  on  his  Majesty's  subjects  in 
Amerca,  whereby  they  conceive  some  of  their  most  essential 
and  valuable  rights,  as  British  subjects,  to  be  deeply  affected, 
think  it  a  duty  they  owe  to  themselves  and  their  posterity 
to  come  to  the  following  resolutions,  viz. : 

"  Eesolved,  N.  C.  D.,  That  the  Assemblies  of  this  Province 
have,  from  time  to  time,  whenever  requisitions  have  been 
made  by  his  Majesty  for  carrying  on  military  operations  for 
the  defence  of  America,  most  cheerfully  and  liberally  con 
tributed  their  full  proportion  of  men  and  money  for  these 
services. 

"Eesolved,  N.  C.  D.,  That  whenever  his  Majesty's  service 
shall,  for  the  future,  require  the  aids  of  the  inhabitants  of 
this  Province,  and  they  shall  be  called  upon  for  that  purpose 
in  a  constitutional  way,  it  will  be  their  indispensable  duty 
most  cheerfully  and  liberally  to  grant  to  his  Majesty  their 
proportion  of  men  and  money  for  the  defence,  security,  and 
other  public  services  of  the  British  North  American  Colo 
nies. 

"Eesolved,  N.  C.  D.,  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province 
are  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  his  Majesty's 
subjects  in  Great  Britain  or  elsewhere ;  and  that  the  constitu 
tion  of  Government  in  this  Province  is  founded  on  the  natu 
ral  rights  of  mankind,  and  the  noble  principles  of  English 
liberty,  and  therefore  is  or  ought  to  be  perfectly  free. 

"Eesolved,  N.  C.  D.,  That  it  is  the  inherent  birthright  and 
indubitable  privilege  of  every  British  subject  to  be  taxed  only 
by  his  own  consent,  or  that  of  his  legal  representatives,  in 
conjunction  with  his  Majesty  or  his  substitutes. 

"  Eesolved,  N.  C.  D.,  That  the  only  legal  representatives  of 
the  inhabitants  of  this  Province  are  the  persons  they  annu 
ally  elect  to  serve  as  members  of  Assembly. 


42  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"Resolved,  N,  C.  D.,  That  the  taxation  of  the  people  of 
this  Province  by  any  other  persons  whatsoever  than  such 
their  representatives  in  Assembly  is  unconstitutional  and 
subversive  of  their  most  valuable  rights. 

"Resolved,  N.  C.  D.,  That  the  laying  taxes  upon  the  in 
habitants  of  this  Province  in  any  other  manner  being  man 
ifestly  subversive  of  public  liberty,  must,  of  necessary  con 
sequence,  be  utterly  destructive  of  public  happiness. 

"  Resolved,  N.  C.  D.,  That  the  vesting  an  authority  in  the 
Courts  of  Admiralty  to  decide  in  suits  relating  to  the  stamp 
duties  and  other  matters  foreign  to  their  proper  jurisdic 
tion  is  highly  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  his  Majesty's 
American  subjects,  contrary  to  Magna  Charta,— the  great 
charter  and  fountain  of  English  liberty, — and  destructive  of 
one  of  their  most  darling  and  acknowledged  rights— that  of 
trials  by  juries. 

1 '  Resolved,  N.  C.  D. ,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  House 
that  the  restraints  imposed  by  several  acts  of  Parliament  on 
the  trade  of  this  Province,  at  a  time  when  the  people  labor 
under  an  enormous  load  of  debt,  must  of  necessity  be  at 
tended  with  the  most  fatal  consequences,  not  only  to  this 
Province,  but  to  the  trade  of  the  mother-country. 

"  Resolved,  N.  C.  D.,  That  this  House  think  it  their  duty 
thus  firmly  to  assert,  with  modesty  and  decency,  their  in 
herent  rights,  that  their  posterity  may  learn  and  know,  that 
it  was  not  with  their  consent  and  acquiescence,  that  any 
taxes  should  be  levied  on  them  on  them  by  any  persons  but 
their  own  representatives;  and  are  desirous  that  these  their 
resolves  should  remain  on  their  minutes  as  a  testimony  of 
the  zeal  and  ardent  desire  of  the  present  House  of  Assembly 
to  preserve  their  inestimable  rights,  which,  as  Englishmen, 
they  have  possessed  ever  since  this  Province  was  settled, 
and  to  transmit  them  to  their  latest  posterity." 

On  the  5th  of  October,  the  stamps  arrived  at  Philadelphia, 
the  ship  which  brought  them  having  laid  some  time  at  New 
Castle-upon  Delaware,  under  protection  of  a  man-of-war. 
When  the  ship  first  appeared  round  Gloucester  Point,  all  tha 
vessels  in  the  harbor  hoisted  their  colors  half-staff  high,  the 
bells  were  muffled  and  continued  to  toll  until  evening,  and 
every  countenance  added  to  the  appearance  of  sincere 
mourning.  At  four  in  the  afternoon  several  thousands  of 
citizens  met  at  the  State  House  to  consult  on  proper  meas 
ures  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the  Stamp  Act.  It  was 
agreed  to  send  a  deputation  of  seven  persons  to  Mr.  Hughes, 
the.  stampmaster  for  that  Province  (who  was  then  sick  in 
bed),  to  request  he  would  resign  his  office.  He  readily  de 
clared  that  no  act  of  his  should  assist  the  carrying  of  that 
law  into  execution  till  it  was  generally  complied  with  in  the 
other  Colonies,  but  refused  to  sign  any  resignation.  When 
this  report  was  made  by  the  deputies  to  the  State  House,  the 


TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC!.  43 

citizens  were  enraged  to  that  degree  that  it  is  hard  to  say 
what  lengths  their  fury  would  have  carried  them  had  not 
the  deputies  represented  Mr.  Hughes  at  the  point  of  death ; 
this  moved  their  compassion,  and  they  agreed  to  make  their 
demand  in  writing  and  give  Mr.  Hughes  till  the  Monday 
following  to  make  a  reply.  And  on  Monday  the  deputies  read 
the  following  answer  aloud  to  all  the  multitude  assembled : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  Monday  morning,  October  7,  1765. 

"Whereas,  about  six  o'clock  on  Saturday  evening  last  a 
paper  was  sent  to  me,  expressing  that  a  great  number  of  cit 
izens  of  Philadelphia  assembled  at  the  State  House,  to  de 
mand  of  Mr.  John  Hughes,  distributor  of  stamps  for  Penn 
sylvania,  that  he  will  give  them  assurance,  under  his  hand, 
that  he  will  not  execute  that  office,  and  expect  that  he  will 
give  them  a  fair,  candid,  and  direct  answer  by  Monday 
next  at  ten  o'clock,  when  he  will  be  waited  on  for  that  pur 
pose, 

"  I  do  therefore  return  for  answer  to  those  gentlemen  and 
all  their  associates,  that  I  have  not  hitherto  taken  anv  step 
tending  to  put  the  late  act  of  Parliament  into  execution  in 
this  Province,  and  that  I  will  not,  either  by  myself  or  my 
deputies,  do  any  act  or  thing  that  shall  have  the  least  ten 
dency  to  put  the  said  act  into  execution  in  this  Province 
until  the  said  act  shall  be  put  into  execution  generally  in  the 
neighboring  Colonies ;  and  this  I  am  determined  to  abide  by. 

"And  whereas,  my  commission  includes  the  three  coun 
ties  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex-upon-Delaware,  I  do 
therefore  hereby  voluntarily  inform  the  good  people  of  those 
counties  that  no  act  of  mine  shall,  either  directly  or  indi 
rectly,  involve  them  in  any  difficulties  with  respect  to  the 
said  Stamp  Act  before  the  same  shall  take  place  generally  in 
the  neighboring  Colonies. 

"JOHN  HUGHES." 

A  week  later,  Mr.  Hughes  gave  to  the  commissioners  of 
stamps  a  long  account  of  his  troubles,  in  which  he  attributes 
the  disturbances  to  the  "  Presbyterians  and  the  proprietary 
party."  His  letter  is  as  follows : 

,  "  PHILADELPHIA,  October  12,  1765. 

"GENTLEMEN:  Having  been  confined  to  my  bed  twenty- 
five  days  past,  with  a  violent  disorder  that  was  expected 
would  prove  mortal,  but,  thank  God,  am  now  able  to  sit  up 
in  bed,  I  shall  attempt  to  give  you  a  sketch  of  not  only  my 
own  conduct,  but  also  that  of  the  Presbyterians  and  propri 
etary  party  here  relative  to  the  stamp  office. 

"  In  May  last,  I  received  information  from  Dr.  Franklin 
that  he  had  recommended  me  for  chief  distributor  of  stamps 
in  this  Province ;  and  thus  the  matter  rested  until  some 
gentleman  to  the  eastward  mecived  their  commissions, 


44  TEE  BIRTH  OF  TUE  REPUBLIC. 

whereupon  mobs  arose  in  several  of  the  Eastern  Provinces 
and  the  officers  were  obliged  to  resign  ;  but  as  a  prelude  to 
the  destruction  and  disorder  made  by  those  mobs,  the  print 
ers  in  each  Colony,  almost  without  exception,  stuffed  their 
papers  weekly,  for  some  time  before,  with  the  most  inflam 
matory  pieces  they  could  procure,  and  excluded  everything 
that  tended  to  cool  the  minds  of  the  people.  These  measures 
they  pursued  until  the  Presbyterians,  in  particular,  in  every 
Colony,  began  to  threaten  the  Stamp  officers;  and  those 
gentry  in  their  Province,  about  the  beginning  of  September, 
began  to  be  very  noisy,  and  some  of  them  said  I  ought  to 
resign.  I  gave  them  for  answer,  I  had  as  yet  no  commission, 
therefore  could  not  resign  what  I  had  not.  However,  about 
the  middle  of  September,  it  was  reported  that  the  stamps 
would  arrive  in  Captain  Friend's  ship,  who  was  then  ex 
pected,  and  these  riotous  gentry  began  to  threaten  they 
would  destroy  the  stamps  as  soon  as  they  arrived.  I  there 
fore,  being  desirous,  as  far  as  in  me  lay,  to  preserve  the 
stamps,  wrote  on  the  17th  the  letter  (No.  1)  to  his  Honor 
the  Governor,  but  received  no  answer ;  and  as  the  stamps 
did  not  arrive  in  Captain  Friend's  vessel,  matters  rested  un 
til  October  2d,  when  I  received  the  paper  (No.  2),  being  a  note 
from  Captain  William  Dovel ;  a  tool  of  the  party,  and  therefore 
I  wrote  my  answer  (No.  3)  to  Mr.  Dickenson,  the  owner  of 
the  ship,  and  on  the  next  day  wrote  my  letter  (No.  4)  to  his 
Honor  the  Governor,  but  received  no  answer ;  and  here  mat 
ters  rested  until  Saturday,  the  5th  of  October,  when  I  re 
ceived  information,  that  the  ship  with  the  stamps  was  come 
up  to  the  town  that  day,  and  that  a  mob  would  be  collected 
by  beating  muffled  drums  through  the  streets  and  ringing 
the  State  House  and  church  bells  muffled,  which  was  ac 
cordingly  done  all  the  afternoon,  but  at  two  o'clock  the  post 
arrived  with  the  mail  and  packet,  and,  among  other  things, 
my  commission.  This  the  party  ventured  to  allege  because 
there  was  a  large  packet  for  me ;  accordingly  the  mob  col 
lected,  chiefly  Presbyterians  and  proprietary  emissaries, 
with  the  Chief  Justice's  (Mr.  William  Allen)  son  at  their 
head,  animating  and  encouraging  the  lower  class. 

"About  three  o'clock  the  following  persons,  viz.:  James 
Tilghman,  Esq. ;  attorney  at  law,  Messrs.  Robert  Morris, 
Charles  Thompson,  Archibald  M'Call,  John  Cox,  William 
Richards,  merchants;  and  Mr.  William  Bradford,  printer,— 
came  to  me,  on  a  deputation  from  a  great  number  collected 
at  the  State  House,  to  request  my  resignation.  I  answered, 
it  is  true,  I  now  have  my  commission,  but  as  two  gentlemen 
are  bound  for  my  performance  in  the  sum  of  5000  pounds, 
I  could  not  resign  unless  I  indemnify  my  bail.  Altercation 
on  this  subject  took  up  nearly  an  hour  (low  as  I  was);  and 
at  last  they  said,  nil  that  was  expected  of  me  was  that  I 
would  not  put  the  act  in  -y" ^ition  in  the  Province  until  his 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  45 

Majesty's  further  pleasure  was  known,  or  until  the  act 
should  be  put  in  execution  in  the  neighboring  Colonies.  To 
this  I  thought  proper  to  signify  some  disposition  to  comply, 
because  I  had  many  informations  by  my  friends  that  the 
mob  intended  to  proceed  to  the  last  extremities  if  I  did  not 
resign.  Upon  this  the  deputation  withdrew  to  consult  their 
associates,  and  at  six  o'clock  I  received  the  paper  (No.  5), 
being  a  peremptory  demand ;  there  the  matter  rested  until 
Sunday  morning,  when,  having  recovered  my  spirits  a  little 
from  the  fatigue  of  that  long  altercation  aforesaid,  I  looked 
over  the  paper,  and  found  it  more  positive  than  what  had 
been  mentioned  the  day  before,  and  therefore  sent  for  Mr. 
Charles  Thompson,  one  of  the  deputation,  and  asked  him  if 
they  were  sincere  the  day  before;  .  .  .  because,  I  ob 
served,  the  paper  sent  me  did  not  agree  with  the  proposition 
made  to  me.  He  said  he  was  sincere  and  could  only  answer 
for  himself.  I  replied :  Well,  gentlemen,  you  must  look  to 
yourselves;  for  this  is  a  high  affair.  He  made  answer  thus: 
I  do  not  know,  but  I  hope  it  will  not  be  deemed  rebellion. 
Indeed,  sir,  I  know  no  other  name  for  it.  Well,  says  he, 
I  know  not  how  it  may  end,  for  we  have  not  yet  determined 
whether  we  will  ever  suffer  the  act  to  take  place  here  or  not ; 
and  took  his  leave.  On  Monday  morning  at  ten  o'clock,  the 
whole  deputation  came,  and  I  offered  them  the  paper  (No. 
6) ;  and  after  some  consultation  among  themselves,  they  ob 
jected  to  their  names  being  inserted.  I  said :  Why,  sure, 
gentlemen,  you  have  not  done  a  thing  you  are  ashamed  to 
own  ?  Not  in  the  least,  they  said ;  but  there  was  no  necessity 
for  their  names  being  inserted,  nor  would  they  receive  that 
resignation.  Whereupon  I  said  to  Mr.  Tilghman:  Come,  sir, 
take  the  pen  and  please  yourself,  for  I  see  you  are  determined 
to  be  arbitrary.  He  then  took  the  pen  and  formed  the  paper 
(No.  7) ;  and  when  it  was  transcribed,  I  asked  them  what 
they  intended  to  do  with  the  stamps,  as  they  assumed  the 
supreme  power  in  the  Province..  They  then  looked  at  one 
another  for  a  while,  and  seemed  somewhat  confused ;  but,  at 
last,  Mr.  Tilghman  replied :  We  did  not  come  here  prepared 
to  speak  to  that  head.  Then  another  replied :  Let  Mr.  Hughes 
take  care  of  them.  I  answered :  Gentlemen,  that  cannot  be, 
as  you  have  now  fixed  matters;  for  were  I  to  take  the 
stamps  into  my  care,  I  should  have  your  party  come  about 
my  house  and  pull  it  down  and  destroy  both  me  and  them. 
Well,  says  another,  let  the  Governor  take  care  of  them.  An 
other  then  says :  Perhaps  the  Governor  will  call  upon  Mr. 
Hughes  to  put  the  act  into  execution ;  and  when  he  declines, 
the  Governor  perhaps  will  appoint  an  officer,  and  the  act 
may  take  place.  Here  a  general  pause  ensued ;  but  at  last 
one  and  all  cried  out :  Let  us  see  who  will  dare  put  the  act  in 
execution ;  upon  the  Governor's  appointment  we  will  take 
care  of  that.  By  this  time  the  paper  (No.  7)  was  transcribed ; 


46  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

and.  after  I  had  signed  it,  they  went  away  to  proclaim  it  to 
their  friends.  And  the  next  day  I  wrote  the  letter  (No.  8)  to 
the  Governor,  and  received  the  under- written  verbal  answer 
by  my  son." 

The  letter  to  the  Governor  here  referred  to,  makes  inquiry 
in  regard  to  the  stamps,  that  he  may  report  to  the  stamp 
commissioners.  The  verbal  answer  of  the  Governor  was 
simply  this :  ' '  Let  Mr.  Hughes  know  the  stamps  are  on  board 
the  man-of-war." 

Hughes  intimates  very  broadly,  in  his  correspondence  with 
the  commissioners  and  others,  that  the  Governor,  from  some 
cause,  evaded  his  sworn  duty;  and  that  he  might  have 
quelled  the  mob.  There  was  evidently  no  good  under 
standing  between  these  British  functionaries ;  and  each  was 
ready  to  throw  the  blame,  of  failing  to  enforce  the  law,  upon 
the  other. 

Both  Hughes  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ingersoll  of  Connecticut 
claimed  that  they  had  been  appointed  stamp-distributors  on 
the  recommendation  of  Dr.  Franklin.  It  is  proper  to  state, 
therefore,  that  that  distinguished  patriot  was  the  agent  of  the 
Colonies,  resident  in  London;  and  if  called  on  by  \\\Q  gov 
ernment  to  designate  persons  to  fill  those  places,  he  could 
not,  consistently  with  his  position,  refuse  to  do  so,  much  as 
he  detested,  and  earnestly  as  he  had  opposed,  the  passage  of 
the  act. 

No  doubt  the  serious  illness  of  Hughes  saved  him  from  a 
rough  handling  by  the  mob.  It  is  evident  that  he  made  the 
most  of  his  illness ;  and  it  is  probable,  from  what  took  place, 
that  he  would  have  surrendered  at  the  first  summous  if  he 
had  been  pressed  with  vigor. 

DELAWARE. 

There  is  little  to  be  said,  under  the  separate  head  of  Dela 
ware,  in  regard  to  the  enforcement  of  the  Stamp  Act.  The 
stamp-distributor  appointed  for  Pennsylvania  was  also  au 
thorized  to  act  in  that  capacity  for  the  "  lower  counties  on 
the  Delaware"  (by  which  designation  the  Colony  was  known), 
New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex.  And  in  his  agreement  to 
suspend  operations  until  the  King  should  be  heard  from,  or 
until  the  act  should  be  enforced  in  the  neighboring  Colonies, 
he  stipulated  to  observe  the  same  rule  as  to  Delaware. 

MARYLAND. 

"  There  was  no  Colony  of  English  America,"  says  McMa- 
hon,  in  his  History  of  Maryland,  "in  which  the  claim  of  the 
inhabitants  to  exemption  from  all  taxation  not  sanctioned 
by  their  assent  was  more  familiar  than  in  Maryland.  It 
was  one  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  their  proprietary 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  47 

government,  incorporated  with  it  by  law  in  its  very  infancy ; 
and  it  was  constantly  extended  bv  its  Assembly,  even  to 
every  act  of  the  proprietary  administration,  the  indirect 
consequence  of  which  was  taxation.  The  vigilance  with 
which  its  Assemblies  guarded  this  right,  and  their  constant 
assertion  of  it  against  everything  which  even  indirectly 
tended  to  its  infringement,  gave  to  it  the  character  of  an 
indisputable  privilege.  .  .  . 

u  In  investigating  the  history  of  this  act,  much  talent  has 
been  employed,  and  much  time  and  research  have  been  ex 
pended,  in  determining  to  which  of  the  Colonies  belongs  the 
high  honor  of  having  given  the  first  impulse  to  Colonial  re 
sistance.  If  such  attaches  peculiarly  to  any  one  of  the  Colo 
nies,  the  effort  to  establish  its  claim  is  worthy  of  all  re 
search.  To  have  been  the  advance  guard  of  liberty  in  the 
first  great  effort  which  opened  the  way  to  the  establishment 
of  the  first  Kepublic  upon  earth,  is  enough  for  immortality ; 
and  generous  rivalry  will  accord  it  where  it  is  due.  Yet  it 
may  well  be  questioned  whether  such  merit  can  be  properly 
ascribed  to  any  man  or  any  Colony.  Such  pretensions 
must  assume,  as  the  foundation  of  the  claim,  the  origination 
either  of  the  principles  of  the  opposition,  or  by  the  de 
termination  to  resist,  or  of  the  means  of  resistance.  .  .  . 
Speeches,  resolves,  addresses,  essays,  had  brought  the  public 
mind  to  contemplate  all  the  consequences  of  the  proposed 
measure;  and  the  spirit  of  resistance  was  already  up,  in  the 
formidable  shape  of  combinations.  However  suppressed 
that  spirit  might  seem,  and  ready  to  submit,  when  there 
remained  no  alternative  but  open  rebellion  against  the  act, 
the  '  master-spirits'  in  the  Colonies  knew  full  well  that  its 
rest  was  but  the  couching  of  the  lion,  and  its  silence  the 
portentous  silence  that  precedes  the  storm.  Such  were 
Henry  of  Virginia,  and  Otis  of  Massachusetts  in  the  two 
great  Colonies  whose  movements  against  the  Stamp  Act 
stand  first  in  order  and  importance  upon  the  page  of  history. 
They  touched  the  cord  of  public  feeling,  already  tremblingly 
alive ;  and  they  knew  its  response.  Their  Colonies  went  in 
advance  of  the  others  in  the  expression  of  these  sentiments 
through  their  Assembles ;  but  by  the  early  convention  of  the 
latter,  after  the  passage  of  the  act,  accident  cast  upon  them 
the  first  opportunity  of  taking  the  lead  in  opposition  to  it. 
They  sounded  the  first  notes  of  defiance ;  but  these  were  soon 
echoed  back  by  Colonies  as  ready,  energetic,  and  determined 
in  resistance  as  they. 

"It  is.  not  our  purpose  nor  our  wish  to  say  aught  in  de 
rogation  of  the  high  claims  of  those  patriotic  Colonies,  to  be 
cherished  in  our  remembrance  as  the  foremost  champions 
of  Colonial  liberty.  Their  honor  is  reflected  upon  us;  and 
the  virtues  and  noble  bearing  of  their  distinguished  sons 
adorn  our  common  history.  To  have  been  found  firm  and 


48  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

faithful  by  their  side  'is  enough  for  honor.'  Yet  in  the 
histories  of  the  Colonial  transactions  connected  with  the 
Stamp  Act,  the  course  of  Maryland  seems  to  have  been 
little  known  or  understood,  and  she  has  been  thrown  into 
the  rear  of  the  other  Colonies,  as  if  she  had  been  by  them 
stimulated  to  and  led  on  in  opposition.  Yet  her  transac 
tions  prove  that  she  wanted  no  teacher,  either  to  instruct  in 
her  rights  or  to  prompt  them  to  preserve  them ;  and  they 
exhibit  a  character  and  unanimity  of  opposition  that  is 
without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  any  Colony. 

"Circumstances  of  the  moment  over  which  she  had  no 
control  prevented  this  Colony  from  expressing  through,  her 
Assembly,  her  opposition  to  this  measure,  not  only  before  the 
act  passed  but  also  for  a  long  period  after  its  passage.  The 
power  to  convene  the  Assembly  resided  wholly  with  the  Gov 
ernor;  and  upon  the  prorogation  of  it  in  November,  1763,  its 
session  was  postponed,  by  repeated  prorogations,  until  Sep 
tember,  1765.  The  Assembly  was  thus  disabled  from  declar 
ing  its  decided  hostility  to  the  measure  at  an  earlier  period ; 
but  its  eagerness  in  the  common  cause  is  displayed,  not  only 
by  the  spirited  and  unanimous  declaration  then  made,  but  still 
more  forcibly  by  its  remonstrance  to  the  Governor  for  his  de- 
lay'in  convening  it  at  a  period  when  its  members  were  desir 
ous  to  unite  with  their  brethren  in  the  other  Colonies,  in  the 
protection  of  their  common  liberties.  Their  message  is  the 
best  commentary  upon  the  subject :  *  We  are  truly  concerned 
[say  they  in  this  message,  13th  December,  1765]  '  that  the 
duty  we  owe  t9  our  constituents  lays  us  under  the  indis 
pensable  necessity  of  observing  that  every  power  lodged  in 
the  hands  of  government  is  there  intrusted  by  the  Consti 
tution,  to  be  exercised  for  the  common  good.  To  this  end 
hath  your  Excellency,  as  Supreme  Magistrate,  the  power  of 
convening  and  proroguing,  which,  we  need  not  remark,  ac 
cording  to  the  bill  of  rights,  confirmed  at  the  happy  Revolu 
tion,  ought,  for  redress  of  all  grievances,  and  for  amending, 
strengthening,  and  preserving  the  laws,  to  be  held  frequently. 
The  unhappy  prevalence  of  the  smallpox,  from  the  month 
of  March  to  that  of  September  last,  rendered  a  convention  of 
Assembly  within  that  time  impracticable ;  but  we  are  ignor 
ant  of  any  reasons  that  could  occasion  the  long  interval  from 
November,  1763,  to  last  March ;  within  which  time,  circum 
stances  of  a  peculiar  nature  required  a  meeting  of  Assembly, 
which  was  prevented  by  prorogation.  .  .  .  Previously  to 
this,  and  at  the  first  moment  of  their  assemblage  in  Septem 
ber.  1765,  they  had  passed  resolves  against  the  Stamp  Act, 
and  had  deputed  commissioners  to  the  general  Congress. 
And  this  remonstrance  is  here  adverted  to  only  for  the  pur 
pose  of  attesting  that  the  same  spirit  which  characterized 
their  first  Assembly  proceedings  after  the  passage  of  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  49 

Stamp  Act,  had  prevailed  in  the  Colony  from  the  first  mo 
ment  the  tax  was  proposed. 

"There  were,  however,  other  indications  of  public  feeling 
which  went,  in  advance  of  all  the  Assembly  transanctions,  to 
demonstrate  the  general  detestation  of  the  measure  by  the 
people  of  Maryland.  They  had  amongst  them  that  admira 
ble  reflector  of  public  sentiment,  an  established  and  well- 
regulated  press,  in  the  paper  then  conducted  by  Mr.  Jonas 
Green,  of  Annapolis,  under  the  name  of  The  Maryland 
Gazette  It  was  established  tin  the  year  1745,  and  has  ever 
since  been  conducted  by  his  descendants  under  that  name. 
Venerable  for  its  antiquity,  in  which,  it  is  believed,  it  out 
ranks  every  existing  paper  in  the  United  States,  it  is  rendered 
still  more  so  by  its  devotion  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  from  the 
very  origin  of  our  struggle  for  emancipation.  Yet  nourish 
ing  in  the  hands  of  his  descendants,  and  sustained  by  his 
worth,  it  has  been  truly  an  'evergreen.'  .  .  .  The  inti 
mation  of  the  Ministry's  intention  to  tax  the  Colonies  was 
first  communicated  in  its  number  of  17th  May,  1764;  and 
from  that  period  the  tenor  of  its  publications  continually 
indicated  its  hostility  to  the  measure.  Its  number  of  the 
18th  April,  1765,  announced  the  intention  to  suspend  its  pub 
lication  if  the  .melancholy  and  alarming  accounts  which 
had  just  been  received,  of  the  probable  passage  of  the  Stamp 
Act  should  prove  true.  Its  actual  passage  was  communi 
cated  in  terms  of  the  highest  indignation;  and  from  that 
period  the  columns  of  this  paper  were  continually  crowded 
with  publications  illustrative  of  the  rights  of  the  Colonies, 
and  of  the  necessity  of  resistance.  The  operation  of  the  act 
having  commenced,  the  paper  of  the  10th  October,  1765  was 
put  into  mourning,  with  the  expressive  motto :  '  The  Mary 
land  Gazette  expiring  in  the  hopes  of  a  resurrection. '  And 
its  publication  was  shortly  afterwards  actually  suspended 
until  the  10th  of  December  following,  when  it  was  revived 
with  the  avowal  '  that  it  should  be,  as  it  had  been,  sacred 
to  liberty,  and  consequently  to  virtue,  religion,  and  the  good 
and  welfare  of  its  country. '  These  details,  connected,  as  they 
are,  with  the  history  of  the  times,  cannot  be  uninteresting; 
and  they  are  due  to  one  whose  efforts  and  influence  as  an 
auxiliary  in  the  cause  of  liberty  were  widely  felt  and  highly 
estimated.  His  paper  was  a  rara  avis  in  that  day — a  govern 
ment  paper  warring  on  the  side  of  the  people. 

"The  English  Ministry  displayed  some  policy  in  the  selec 
tion  of  residents  of  the  Colonies  as  officers  to  carry  the 
Stamp  Act  into  effect;  but  their  selection  proved,  in  the 
sequel,  to  be  a  decree  of  expatriation  to  those  who  accepted 
the  appointment.  It  was  peculiarly  so  to  the  person  ap 
pointed  as  stamp-distributor  in  Maryland.  Zachariah  Hood, 
the  person  alluded  to,  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and,  at  one 
period,  a  resident  merchant  of:  Annapolis,  More  of  his  his- 


50  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

tory  we  know  not;  and  if  the  limit  of  the  maxim  be  just, 
'Nil  de  mortuis  nisi  bonum,'  we  should  wish  to  know  no 
more.  His  whole  history  may  be  summed  up  in  one  sen- 
te,nce — *  He  was  a  willing  instrument  in  the  hands  of  tyran 
nical  Ministry,  for  the  oppression  of  the  people  among  whom 
he  was  born  and  lived.'  His  appointment  was  announced 
in  a  letter  from  London  to  a  gentleman  of  Annapolis,  pub 
lished  about  the  period  of  his  arrival.  *  Among  the  many 
other  promotions  of  officers  in  the  Colonies,  [it  remarks]  we 
are  credibly  informed  that  Z h  H d,  late  a  sojourn 
ing  merchant  of  the  city  of  Annapolis,  but  at  present 

Z h  H d,  Esq.,  of  St.  James',  has,  for  his  many 

eminent  services  to  his  King  and  country  during  the  late 
war,  got  the  commission  of  distributor  of  the  stamps  in  that 
Province.  This  gentleman's  conduct  is  highly  approved  of 
here,  by  all  court-cringing  politicians,  since  he  is  supposed  to 
have  wisely  considered  that,  if  his  country  must  be  stamped, 
the  blow  would  be  easier  borne  from  a  native,  than  a  for 
eigner  who  might  not  be  acquainted  with  their  manners 
and  institutions.' 

"Coming  under  such  auspices  and  with  such  purposes, 
his  arrival  at  Annapolis  was  welcomed  with  those  marks  of 
distinction  which  it  was  so  customary  to  confer  upon  the 
stamp-distributors  of  that  day;  but,  fortunately  for  him, 
they  were  bestowed  upon  his  effigy." 

The  following  is  the  account  of  his  reception  published  in 
Green's  Gazette  of  August  29,  1765 : 

"  Monday  morning  last,  a  considerable  number  of  people, 
assertors  of  British- American  privileges,  met  here  to  show 
their  detestation  of,  and  abhorrence  to,  some  late  tremen 
dous  attacks  on  liberty,  and  their  dislike  to  a  certain  late-ar 
rived  officer,  a  native  of  this  Province.  They  curiously 
dressed  np  the  figure  of  a  man,  which  they  placed  on  a  one- 
horse  cart,  malefactor-like,  with  some  sheets  of  his  paper  in 
his  hands  before  his  face.  In  this  manner  they  proceeded 
through  the  streets  of  town  till  noon,  the  bells  at  the  same 
time  tolling  a  solemn  knell,  when  they  proceeded  to  the  hill; 
and  after  giving  it  the  Mosaic  law  at  the  whipping-post, 
placed  it  in  the  pillory,  from  whence  they  took  it  and  hung 
it  to  a  gibbet  erected  for  that  purpose,  and  then  set  fire  to  a 
tar-barrel  underneath,  till  it  fell  into  the  barrel.  By  the 
many  significant  nods  of  the  head  while  in  the  cart,  it  may 
be  said  to  have  gone  off  very  penitently." 

The  historian  resumes : 

"The  news  of  his  arrival  soon  spread  through  the  Prov 
ince;  and  his  patriotism  was  honored  in  the  same  significant 
manner  at  Baltimore,  Elk  Ridge,  Fredericktown,  and  other 
places.  The  character  of  these  proceedings  must  not  be 
misunderstood.  They  were  not  the  heedless  and  ungovern 
able  movements  of  tumultuous  spirits,  nor  the  wanton  out- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  61 

rages  of  men  without  character.  They  sprung  from  the 
just  and  settled  indignation  of  a  whole  people.  They  were 
conducted  with  calmness  and  publicity,  and  were  promoted 
by  men  of  the  highest  talents  and  character.  They  were 
not  mere  personal  indignities  offered  to  the  unworthy  instru 
ment  of  the  Crown,  but  acts  of  deliberate  and  open  defiance, 
intended  to  manifest,  in  a  manner  not  to  be  misunderstood, 
their  determined,  opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act,  and  their 
abhorrence  of  all  who  lent  themselves  to  its  enforcement. 
Amongst  those  who  were  prominent  in  the  proceedings  at 
Annapolis,  was  the  distinguished  Samuel  Chase,  whose  en 
ergies  quickened  all  that  he  touched,  and  whose  abilities 
illustrated  all  that  he  examined.  .  .  . 

"Hood  wanted  the  firmness  even  to  attempt  the  execu 
tion  of  the  office  which  he  had  solicited ;  and  the  public  in 
dignation  which  had  been  lavished  upon  his  effigy  at 
length  taking  a  direction  towards  his  person,  he  secretly 
absconded  from  the  Province  early  in  September,  1765,  and 
never  paused  in  his  flight  until  he  had  reached  New  York 
and  had  taken  refuge  under  the  cannon  of  Fort  St.  George. 
He  was  the  first  and  last  stamp  distributor  of  Maryland," 

In  a  note;  the  author  gives  this  further  account  of  the 
stamp-distributor : 

"Hood's  flight  was  insufficient  to  save  him  from  the 
common  fate  of  the  stamp  distributors — a  resignation  by 
compulsion.  He  only  escaped  from  the  resentment  of  one 
Colony  to  be  arrested  by  the  sisterly  indignation  of  another. 
Having  taken  up  his  residence  on  Long  Island,  he  soon  at 
tracted  the  attention  of  the  people,  and  the  liberals  at  once 
determined  (to  use  their  own  language)  that,  as  he  had  by 
flight  deprived  the  people  of  Maryland  of  that  justice  which 
they  had  a  right  to  demand— the  resignation  of  an  office  cal 
culated  to  enslave  them,— they  would  take  the  affair  into 
their  own  hands,  and  either  compel  him  to  resign,  or  send 
him  back  to  Maryland  as  a  fugitive  from  justice. 

"A  party  of  volunteers  accordingly  assembled  on  the  28th 
of  November,  1765,  and  surrounded  the  house  on  Long  Island 
in  which  he  was  concealed.  Escape  was  impossible,  and 
poor  Hood  was  hooded.  He  now  threw  himself  upon  their 
sympathies,  and  represented  himself  as  one  rather  to  be 
pitied  than  to  be  punished.  His  appeals  to  mercy  were  all 
unavailing ;  and  his  next  attempt  was  at  a  compromise.  He 
now  desired  that  his  word  of  honor  might  be  received  in 
lieu  of  his  oath;  and  that  the  right  might  be  reserved  to  him 
to  hold  his  office  if  hereafter  his  countrymen  should  desire 
it.  He  was  answered  that,  the  people  of  Maryland  having 
an  absolute  right  to  freedom,  he  must  absolutely  and  uncon 
ditionally  renounce  an  office  which  gave  him  power  to  en 
slave  them ;  and  that,  if  this  were  not  done,  he  should  be 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  an  exasperated  multitude,  and 


52  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

carried  back  to  Maryland,  with  labels  upon  him  signifying 
his  office  and  designs.  Resistance  was  hopeless,  and  Hood 
yielded.  As  soon  as  his  abjuration  was  signed,  he  was  ac 
companied  by  upwards  of  one  hundred  gentlemen  from 
Flushing  to  Jamaica,  where  it  was  regularly  sworn  to,  and 
he  was  discharged.  Like  the  similar  abjurations  of  that 
day,  it  left  no  room  for  equivocation  or  mental  reservation, 
and  abounded  with  apologies  and  excuses  utterly  at  vari 
ance  with  the  feelings  of  the  individual,  and  only  serving 
to  render  him  contemptible  and  harmless." 

As  has  been  stated,  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland, 
which  met  on  the  23d  of  September,  promptly  appointed 
delegates  to  attend  the  General  Congress,  which  was  to  meet 
in  New  York  in  October  following.  Strange  to  say,  the 
Governor  and  Council  concurred  in  this  measure  and  in  an 
appropriation  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  delegates: 

"I.  Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  first  adventurers  and 
settlers  of  this  Province  of  Maryland  brought  with  them, 
and  transmitted  to  their  posterity,  and  all  other  his 
Majesty's  subjects  since  inhabiting  in  this  Province,  all  the 
liberties,  privileges,  franchises,  and  immunities  that  at  any 
time  have  been  held,  enjoyed,  and  possessed  by  the  people 
of  Great  Britain. 

''II.  Resolved  unanimously,  That  it  was  granted  by 
Magna  Charta,  and  other  the  good  laws  and  statutes  of 
England,  and  confirmed  by  the  petition  and  bill  of  rights, 
that  the  subject  should  not  be  compelled  to  contribute  to 
any  tax,  talliage,  aid,  or  other  like  charges  not  set  by  com 
mon  consent  of  Parliament." 

Here  follow  extracts  from  the  charter  granted  by  Charles 
I.  to  Lord  Baltimore,  in  exposition  of  which  the  Assembly 
further  resolved,  viz. : 

"IV.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this 
House  that  the  said  charter  is  declaratory  of  the  constitu 
tional  rights  and  privileges  of  the  freemen  of  this  Province. 

"V.  Resolved  unanimously,  That  trials  by  juries  are  the 
grand  bulwarks  of  liberty,  the  undoubted  birthright  of  every 
Englishman,  and  consequently  of  every  British  subject  in 
America ;  and  that  the  erecting  other  jurisdictions  for  the 
trial  of  matters  of  fact  is  unconstitutional,  and  renders  the 
subject  insecure  in  his  liberty  and  property. 

"  VI.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this 
House  that  it  cannot,  with  anjr  truth  or  propriety,  be  said 
that  the  freemen  of  this  Province  of  Maryland  are  repre 
sented  in  the  British  Parliament. 

**  VII.  Resolved  unanimously,  That  his  Majesty's  liege 
people  of  this  ancient  Province  have  always  enjoyed  the 
right  of  being  governed  by  laws  to  which  they  themselves 
have  consented,  in  the  articles  of  taxes  and  internal  polity; 
and  that  the  same  hath  never  been  forfeited,  or  any  other 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  53 

way  yielded  up,  but  hath  been  constantly  recognized  by  the 
King  and  people  of  Great  Britain. 

"  VIII.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this 
House  that  the  representatives  of  the  freemen  of  this  Prov 
ince,  in  their  legislative  capacity,  together  with  the  other 
part  of  the  legislature,  have  the  sole  right  to  lay  taxes  and 
impositions  on  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province,  or  their 
property  and  effects ;  and  that  the  laying,  imposing,  levying, 
or  collecting  any  tax  on  or  from  the  inhabitants  of  Mary 
land,  under  color  of  any  other  authority,  is  unconstitutional 
and  a  direct  violation  of  the  rights  of  the  freemen  of  this 
Province." 

VIRGINIA. 

Mr.  Wirt,  in  his  life  of  Patrick  Henry,  gives  a  brilliant 
account  of  the  case  of  the  people  against  the  parsons,  at 
Hanover  Court,  in  which  the  matchless  eloquence  of  the 
"  forest-born  orator"  achieved  a  triumph  in  favor  of  popular 
rights  at  the  expense  of  law.  It  was  a  question  of  paying 
the  tithes  in  the  usual  way,  at  the  rate  of  1500  pounds  of 
tobacco,  for  each  clergyman,  or  in  money,  at  a  fixed  price. 
A  great  rise  had  taken  place  in  the  market  value  of  the 
article ;  and  in  consequence,  in  1758,  the  Colonial  Assembly 
had  passed  an  act  for  compounding  the  tithes  at  about  two 
pence  per  pound,  the  old  price,  whereas  the  article  was  now 
worth  two  or  three  times  as  much.  But  the  royal  assent  to 
this  act  of  the  Assembly  having  been  refused,  and  it  having 
been  annulled,  it  of  course  had  no  force;  and  as  the  law 
stood,  the  parsons  were  entitled  to  receive  the  1500  pounds 
of  tobacco  instead  of  the  price  in  money.  But -in  the  face  of 
this  state  of  things,  Henry  induced  the  jury  to  give  the 
clergy  sixpence  damages,  his  argument  being  that  the 
people  of  the  Colonies  had  the  sole  right  to  make  laws  for 
their  government.  This  was  in  1764- 

In  regard  to  the  Stamp  Act,  Mr.  Wirt  says : 

"This  same  year,  1764,  is  memorable  for  the  origination 
of  the  great  question  which  led  finally  to  the  independence 
of  the  United  States.  It  has  been  said  by  a  gentleman  at 
least  as  well  qualified  to  judge  as  any  other  now  alive  (Mr. 
Jefferson),  that  '  Mr.  Henry  certainly  gave  the  first  impulse 
to  the  ball  of  the  Revolution.'  In  order  to  show  the  correct 
ness  of  this  position,  it  is  proper  to  ascertain  the  precise 
point  to  which  the  controversy  with  Great  Britain  had 
advanced  when  Mr.  Henry  first  presented  himself  in  the 
character  of  a  statesman. 

"In  March,  1764,  the  British  Parliament  had  passed  reso 
lutions  preparatory  to  the  levying  a  revenue  on  the  Colonies 
by  a  stamp  tax.  These  resolutions  were  communicated  to 
the  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia,  through  their  committee 


54  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE 

of  correspondence,  by  the  colonial  agent,  and,  having  been 
maturely  considered,  resulted  in  the  appointment  of  a 
special  committee  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  King,  a 
memorial  to  the  Lords,  and  a  remonstrance  to  the  House  of 
Commons.  On  the  18th  of  December,  1764,  these  papers 
were  reported  and  (after  various  amendments,  which  con 
siderably  diluted  their  spirit)  received  the  concurrence  of 
the  Council.  The  reader  will  perceive  on  perusing  them 
that,  while  they  affirm,  in  clear  and  strong  terms,  the  con 
stitutional  exemption  of  the  Colony  from  taxation  by  the 
British  Parliament,  they  breathe,  nevertheless,  a  tone  so 
suppliant,  and  exhibit  such  a  picture  of  anticipated  suffering 
from  the  pressure  of  the  tax  on  the  exhausted  resources  of 
the  Colony,  as  to  indicate  that  no  opposition  beyond  remon 
strance  was  at  this  time  meditated. " 

Patrick  Henry  entered  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses 
on  the  20th  day  of  May,  1765.  Having  waited  in  vain  some 
time  for  some  of  the  older  members  to  take  the  lead  in  oppo 
sition  to  the  Stamp  Act,  he,  although  within  three  days  of 
the  close  of  the  session,  introduced  his  celebrated  resolutions. 
Mr.  Wirt  says:  "  I  will  not  withhold  from  the  reader  a  note 
of  this  transaction  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Henry  himself.  It 
is  a  curiosity,  and  highly  worthy  of  preservation.  After  his 
death,  there  was  found  among  his  papers  one  sealed  and  thus 
indorsed:  'Inclosed  are  the  resolutions  of  the  Virginia 
Assembly  in  1765  concerning  the  Stamp  Act.  Let  my  exec 
utors  open  this  paper.'  Within  was  found  the  following 
copy  of  the  resolutions  in  Mr.  Henry's  handwriting: 

' '  Resolved,  That  the  first  adventurers  and  settlers  of  this 
his  Majesty's  Colony  and  dominion,  brought  with  them  and 
transmitted  to  their  posterity  and  all  other  his  Majesty's 
subjects  since  inhabiting  in  this  his  Majesty's  said  Colony, 
all  the  privileges,  franchises,  and  immunities  that  have  at 
any  time  been  held,  enjoyed,  and  possessed  by  the  people  of 
Great  Britain. 

"  'Resolved,  That  by  two  royal  charters  granted  by  King 
James  the  First,  the  Colonists  aforesaid  are  declared  entitled 
to  all  the  privileges,  liberties,  and  immunities  of  denizens 
and  natural-born  subjects  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  if 
they  had  been  abiding  and  born  within  the  realm  of  England. 
' '  Resolved,  That  the  taxation  of  the  people  by  themselves, 
or  by  persons  chosen  by  themselves  to  represent  them,  who 
can  only  know  what  taxes  the  people  are  able  to  bear,  and 
the  easiest  mode  of  raising  them,  and  are  equally  affected  by 
such  taxes  themselves,  is  the  distinguishing  characteristic 
of  British  freedom,  and  without  which  the  ancient  Constitu 
tion  cannot  subsist. 

"'Resolved,  That  his  Majesty's  liege  people  of  this  most 
ancient  Colony  have  uninterruptedly  enjoyed  the  right  of 
being  thus  governed  by  their  own  Assembly  in  the  article  of 


THE  BIRTH  OF  Tim  REPUBLIC.  55 

their  taxes  and  internal  polity;  and  the  same  hath  never 
been  forfeited  or  any  other  way  given  up,  but  hath  been 
constantly  recognized  by  the  King  and  people  of  Great 
Britain. 

' ' '  Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Colony  have 
the  sole  ri^ht  and  power  to  levy  taxes  and  impositions  upon 
the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony ;  and  that  every  attempt  to 
vest  such  power  in  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever  other 
than  the  General  Assembly  aforesaid  has  a  manifest  ten 
dency  to  destroy  British  as  well  as  American  freedom.' " 

On  the  back  of  the  paper  containing  these  resolutions  is 
the  following  indorsement,  which  is  also  in  the  handwriting 
of  Mr.  Henry  himself:  "The  within  resolutions  in  May, 
1765.  They  formed  the  first  opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act 
and  the  scheme  of  taxing  America  by  the  British  Parliament. " 

Mr.  Henry  left  town  for  home  on  the  day  that  the  resolu 
tions  were  adopted— the  last  of  the  series  by  a  majority  of 
one  vote ;  and  the  next  day,  the  opposite  party,  taking  ad 
vantage  of  his  absence,  voted  to  expunge  the  last  resolution 
from  the  journals.  Burke,  in  his  History  of  Virginia,  gives 
six  resolutions  with  a  preamble ;  but  Mr.  Wirt  expresses  the 
confident  opinion,  in  which  he  is  sustained  by  Mr.  Jefferson 
and  by  Mr.  Paul  Carrington,  both  of  whom  were  present, 
that  Burke's  version,  taken  from  "Prior  Documents,"  is  not 
genuine.  He  also  regards  the  speech  which  Burke  puts 
into  the  mouth  of  Henry  as  spurious.  However  this  may 
be,  the  speech,  at  any  rate,  is  very  fine,  and  worthy  of 
Henry's  genius.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Henry 
"  entered  into  an  historical  enumeration  of  those  examples 
of  successful  resistance  to  oppression  which  rendered  glorious 
the  annals  of  Rome  and  England,  and  concluded  with  this 
dreadful  warning,  which,  connected  with  its  subsequent 
fulfilment,  seemed  like  the  inspiration  of  prophecy:" 
'Caesar,'  said  he,  'had  his  Brutus,  Charles  his  Cromwell, 
and  [pausing]  George  the  Third '  (here  a  cry  of  ' '  Treason  ! 
treason  !"  was  heard,  supposed  to  issue  from  the  chair ;  but 
with  admirable  presence  of  mind  he  proceeded)  '  may  profit 
by  their  examples.  Sir,  if  this  be  treason,  make  the  most 
of  it." 

The  following  account  of  the  disposition  made  of  the 
stamp-distributor  of  Virginia  is  from  Martin's  History  of 
North  Carolina.  Burke,  the  historian  of  Virginia,  seems  to 
have  overlooked  the  affair  entirely  : 

* '  On  the  last  week  of  October  [says  Martin]  George 
Mercer,  distributor  of  stamps  for  the  Province  of  Virginia, 
landed  at  Hampton.  He  met  with  some  rude  treatment 
from  the  mob,  who,  by  the  interposition  of  some  influential 
gentlemen,  were  prevailed  on  to  disperse  without  any  ill 
consequences  following.  When  he  arrived  in  Williamsburg, 
as  he  was  walking  towards  the  capitol,  on  his  way  to  the 


56  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Governor's,  he  was  accosted  by  a  number  of  gentlemen  from 
different  parts  of  the  Province  (the  General  Court  being 
then  sitting),  who  insisted  on  his  immediately  satisfying  the 
company,  which  was  constantly  increasing,  whether  he  in 
tended  to  enter  on  the  duties  of  his  office.  Seeing  himself 
completely  surrounded,  he  answered  that  any  reply  he  might 
then  make  would  be  attributed  to  fear,  and  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  wait  011  the  Governor  and  Council  in  order  to 
obtain  correct  information  of  the  sentiments  of  the  Colony, 
and  afterwards  meet  his  countrymen  and  give  them  an 
answer.  This  seemed  to  give  satisfaction,  and  he  was  ac 
companied  to  the  coffee-house  where  the  Governor,  most 
of  the  Council,  and  a  great  number  of  other  gentlemen  were 
assembled.  The  crowd  in  the  mean  while  increased,  and, 
growing  impatient,  insisted  upon  a  more  speedy  and  satis 
factory  answer,  declaring  they  would  not  disperse  till  it  was 
obtained;  upon  which,  George  Mercer,  coming  forward  and 
promising  a  categorical  answer  by  five  o'clock  the  next 
evening,  he  met  with  no  further  molestation. 

"  At  the  time  appointed,  he  was  met  at  the  capital  by  a 
vast  concourse  of  people,  among  whom  were  the  principal 
merchants  in  the  Colony,  when  a  committee  chosen  for  the 
purpose  informed  him  he  was  then  to  look  upon  himself  as 
in  the  presence  of  the  Colony,  and  demanded  the  answer  he 
had  on  the  preceding  day  promised  them.  He  then  addressed 
the  meeting  in  a  speech  of  considerable  length,  and  concluded 
he  would  have  been  glad  to  have  had  it  in  his  power  to  have 
acted  in  such  a  manner  as  would  have  justified  him  to  his 
friends  and  countrymen  in  the  Province,  and  to  the  persons 
from  whom  he  derived  his  appointment ;  but  the  time  allowed 
to  him  was  so  short  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  discover 
that  happy  medium.  He  therefore  entreated  the  gentlemen 
present  to  be  referred  to  his  future  conduct,  with"  his  assur 
ance  that  he  would  not,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  himself  or 
his  deputies,  proceed  in  the  execution  of  the  act  until  he  re 
ceived  further  orders  from  England,  and  not  then  without 
the  assent  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Province.  This 
declaration  gave  so  general  a  satisfaction  that  he  was  imme 
diately  borne  out  of  the  capitol  gate  amid  the  acclamations 
of  all  persons  present,  and  carried  to  the  coffee-house,  where 
an  elegant  entertainment  was  provided.  On  his  arrival,  the 
acclamations  redoubled,  drums  beat,  French  horns  and  other 
musical  instruments  sounding.  At  night,  the  bells  were 
set  a-ringing,  and  the  whole  town  illuminated." 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  following  account  of  the  reception  which  the  Stamp 
Act  met  with  in  North  Carolina  is  taken  from  Martin's  His- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC!.  67 

tory  of  the  State.  As  has  been  stated  in  another  place,  the 
Lieutenant-governor,  in  anticipation  of  what  the  action  of 
the  Assembly  would  be,  judging  from  the  tone  of  public 
feeling,  prorogued  that  body  from  the  18th  of  May,  until 
the  30th  of  November,  1765,  and  again  till  March  12,  1766. 
The  Colony  was  thus  precluded  from  participating,  by  its 
delegates,  in  the  General  Congress,  which  was  first  proposed 
by  Massachusets  in  June,  and  which  met  in  New  York  in 
October.  But  this  strategy  did  not  prevent  the  people  from 
giving  expressions  to  their  sentiments,  nor,  when  the  stamps 
arrived,  from  making  a  summary  disposition  of  them.  Mar 
tin  says  that, — 

"Meetings  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  of  Edenton, 
Newbern,  and  Wilmington  were  called,  and,  in  each,  resolu 
tions  were  entered  [into]  expressing  their  utter  abhorrence 
of  the  late  measures  of  the  British  Parliament  and  a  hearty 
concurrence  with  the  sentiments  expressed  by  the  inhabi 
tants  of  the  Northern  Provinces. 


"  In  the  Province  of  North  Carolina,  the  people  at  all  their 
public  meetings  manifested  their  high  approbation  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  Provinces ;  and 
Lieutenant-governor  Tryon,  judging  from  the  temper  of  the 
people  that  it  would  be  unsafe  and  dangerous  to  allow  them 
the  opportunity  of  expressing  their  feelings  by  allowing  a 
session  of  the  legislative  body  in  these  days  of  ferment, 
on  the  25th  of  October  issued  his  proclamation  to  prorogue 
the  General  Assembly,  which  was  to  have  met  on  the  30th 
of  November,  till  the  12th  of  March,  assigning,  as  a  reason 
for  this  step,  that  there  appeared  to  be  no  immediate  neces 
sity  for  their  meeting  at  that  time. 

"  Early  in  the  year  [1766],  the  sloop-of-war  the  Diligence 
arrived  in  the  Cape  Fear,  having  on  board  the  stamp  paper 
destined  for  the  use  of  the  Province;  and  on  the  6th  of  Jan 
uary,  the  Governor  issued  a  proclamation  announcing  this 
circumstance  and  calling  on  all  persons,  authorized  to  act  as 
distributors  of  the  stamps,  to  make  application  therefor  to  the 
commander  of  the  sloop.  But  on  the  first  notice  of  the  ap 
proach  of  this  vessel,  Colonel  John  Ashe,  of  the  County  of 
New  Hanover,  and  Colonel  Waddell  of  the  County  of  Bruns 
wick,  having  embodied  the  militia  of  those  counties, 
marched  at  the  bead  of  them  to  the  town  of  Brunswick,  be 
fore  which  she  was  anchored,  and  notified  the  commander 
of  their  determination  to  resist  the  landing  of  the  stamps.  It 
was  judged  best  not  to  make  the  attempt.  A  party  was  left 
to  watch  the  motions  of  the  sloop,  and  the  rest  of  the  small 
army  marched  to  the  town  of  Wilmington,  carrying  with 
them  one  of  her  boats.  Having  fixed  a  mast  in  her  with  a 
flag,  they  hoisted  her  on  a  cart  and  drove  triumphantly 


58  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

through  the  streets,  the  inhabitants  all  joining  in  the  pro 
cession;  at  night  the  town  was  illuminated.  On  the  next 
day  a  great  concourse  of  people,  headed  by  Colonel  Ashe, 
proceeded  to  the  Governor's  house  and  demanded  to  speak 
with  James  Houston,  one  of  the  Council,  who  had  been  ap 
pointed  stampmaster  for  the  Province.  The  Governor  at 
first  declared  his  intention  not  to  allow  it  unless  Houston 
would  come  willingly ;  but  the  people  threatened  to  set  fire 
to  the  house,  and  proceeded  to  make  preparations  therefor. 
The  Governor  desired  the  colonel  to  step  in  and  talk  with 
the  stampmaster,  who,  finding  that  he  could  not  act  in  his 
office  without  rendering  himself  obnoxious  to  the  people, 
voluntarily  accompanied  the  colonel  to  the  street,  and,  fol 
lowed  by  a  great  concourse  of  people,  proceeded  to  the  mar 
ket-place,  where  he  took  a  solemn  oath  not  to  proceed  on 
the  duties  of  his  office.  On  which  the  people  gave  three 
cheers  and  conducted  him  back  to  the  Governor's." 

In  this  opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act,  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  were  simply  acting  in  harmony  with  universal  sen 
timent  of  the  other  Colonists.  But  another  grievance  of  a 
local  character  was  productive  of  far  more  serious  conse 
quences,  and  was  attended  with  immeasurably  greater  op 
pression  than  would  have  followed  the  enforcement  of  the 
Stamp  Act. 

The  Regulation  War. 

There  are  not  many  persons  outside  of  North  Carolina  who 
are  aware  that  the  people  of  that  Colony  rebelled  against 
the  corrupt  tyranny  of  the  Colonial  Government,  and  fought 
a  battle  in  defence  of  their  rights  as  early  as  May,  1771. 
The  Colonial  Governments  were  all  what  in  modern  phrase 
would  be  styled  u  Carpet-bag"  governments.  The  high  offi 
cers,  without  exception,  were  either  sent  over  from  England 
or  selected  by  the  Crown  with  reference  to  their  unquestion 
ing  devotion  or  obedience  to  the  appointing  power.  Some 
of  them  turned  out  to  be  men  of  honor  and  character ;  but 
the  role  was  that  they  were  corrupt,  profligate,  and  tyran 
nical—the  willing  instruments  of  an  arbitrary  King  and 
Parliament.  Even  the  best  of  them  were  as  scrupulous  in 
maintaining  and  advancing  the  Colonial  policy  of  the  Tory 
Government  of  Great  Britain  as  they  were  in  administering 
tjie  laws.  Whoever  from  whatever  cause  has  "despaired 
of  the  Eepublic,"  and  begun  to  regret  the  separation  from 
the  mother- country  as  a  mistake  of  our  ancestors,  would  do 
well  to  study  carefully  the  Colonial  history  of  the  several 
States.  He  will  not  fail  to  find  that  whether  in  the  New 
England,  or  in  the  Middle,  or  in  the  Southern  Colonies,  there 
was  the  same  indifference  manifested  by  the  British  author 
ities  to  the  rights  and  welfare  of  the  Colonies;  the  same 
Parliamentary  and  royal  interference,  not  for  the  good  of 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  HEPUBLIC.  59 

the  Colonists,  but  for  the  profit  of  British  proprietors  of  lib 
eral  grants  of  Colonial  lands ;  of  British  merchants  trading 
with  America ;  and  of  British  profligates  sent  out  here  to 
enrich  themselves  by  the  maladministration  of  American 
affairs.  The  case  againt  the  mother-country  is  no  less  strong 
than  it  was  so  eloquently  stated  by  Colonel  Barre,  in  the 
House  of  Commons  in  1766.  When  Charles  Townsend,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  asked  the  question,  "  Will  our 
American  children,  planted  by  our  care,  nourished  by  our 
indulgence,  and  protected  by  our  arms,  grudge  to  contribute 
their  mite  to  relieve  us  from  our  burdens?"  Barre  indig 
nantly  replied :  *  *  They  planted  by  your  care !  No,  your  op 
pressions  planted  them  in  America.  They  fled  from  your 
tyranny  to  an  uncultivated,  inhospitable  country;  where 
they  exposed  themselves  to  almost  every  hardship,  and  to 
the  cruelties  of  the  savage  foe.  They  nourished  by  your  in 
dulgence  1  They  grew  by  your  neglect ;  your  care  for  them 
was  to  send  persons  to  rule  them :  deputies  of  deputies  to 
some  members  of  this  House  sent  to  spy  out  their  liberties, 
to  misrepresent  their  actions,  and  to  prey  upon  them.  They 
protected  by  your  arms !  They  have  nobly  taken  up  arms 
in  your  defence.  Amidst  their  constant  and  laborious  in 
dustry,  they  have  defended  a  country  whose  frontiers  were 
drenched  in  blood,  while  its  interior  settlements  yielded  all 
their  little  savings  to  your  emoluments." 

It  is  not  creditable  to  the  earlier  historians  of  North  Car 
olina,  Williamson  and  Martin,  that  they  belittle  the  griev 
ances  of  the  people  which  led  to  the  revolt  of  the  Regula 
tors,  and  take  sides  with  their  oppressors.  But  later  writ 
ers,  without  exception,  after  more  thorough  investigation, 
regard  the  maladministration  of  the  Colonial  Government 
as  fully  justifying  the  attempts  of  the  people  to  reform  it. 
The  nature  of  this  misgovernment  was  mainly  though  not 
entirely  administrative.  It  consisted  in  the  corrupt  and 
tyrannical  conduct  of  the  county  officers,  the  clerks  and 
registers  of  courts,  the  sheriffs  and  their  deputies,  and  the 
justices  of  peace,  who,  following  the  example  of  England, 
were  empowered  to  hold  courts  of  pleas  and  quarter-ses 
sions  for  the  several  counties,  in  addition  to  their  ordinary 
duties  as  conservators  of  the  peace.  The  judges  of  the  supe 
rior  courts  even,  were  charged  with  taking  sides  with  the 
administrative  officers,  while  the  bar  was  charged  with  ex 
tortion,  and  the  exaction  of  illegal  fees.  This  unhappy  state 
of  things  existed  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  in  nearly  all 
the  middle  and  upper  countries,  in  which  the  class  of  yeo 
manry  was  most  numerous,  and  where  there  were  few  of 
the  wealthy  and  educated  gentry,  In  the  lower  counties, 
where  the  latter  class  gave  tone  to  society,  official  and  petti- 
foging  knavery  could  not  have  been  successfully  practised, 
but  the  ignorant  and  humble  class  of  farmers  who  inhabited 


60  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

the  bill  country  were  long  the  helpless  though  not  uncom 
plaining  victims  of  the  sharpers,  until  forbearance  ceased 
to  be  a  virtue.  The  result  was  that  combinations  were 
formed  for  their  mutual  protection,  first  by  petition  and  re 
monstrance,  and  at  length  by  forcible  resistance  of  the  ille 
gal  demands  upon  them.  These  combinations  were  sponta 
neous  in  the  several  counties,  without  concert  between  the 
inhabitants  cf  differen  t  localities.  Indeed,  similar  grievances 
existed  in  other  Colonies  about  the  same  time ;  and  partic 
ularly  in  New  Jersey  and  Maryland.  In  the  former  at 
least,  the  people  made  violent  resistance  to  their  knavish 
oppressors. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  Governor  Tryon  had  the  influence 
and  address  to  enlist  in  his  support  on  this  occasion  the 
leading  gentleman  of  the  low  country,  especially  those  about 
Wilmington — the  very  men  who  had  been  foremost  in  the 
nullification  of  the  Stamp  Act,  and  who  were  afterwards 
among  the  foremost  Whig  patriots  of  the  Colony  during  the 
Revolution.  The  consequence  was  that  perhaps  a  majority 
of  those  who  had  struggled  and  fought  for  Colonial  rights 
from  1767  to  1771  became  Tories  and  took  up  arms  for  the 
Crown.  As  has  been  explained  above,  the  Regulators  were 
for  the  most  part  plain,  uneducated  farmers.  There  were 
exceptions  to  this  rule,  however ;  and  among  them  General 
Thomas  Person,  of  Granville,  who  was  a  distinguished  patriot 
of  the  Revolution.  If  he  had  been  joined  by  the  gentlemen 
of  the  low  country  who  took  the  other  side,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  Regulators  would"  have  succceeded  in 
repressing  their  grievances  without  bloodshed;  and  that 
Tryon  would  have  taken  sides  with  the  people,  instead  of 
that  of  their  oppressors. 

The  leader  in  the  organized  opposition  and  resistance  to 
the  extortions  of  the  officials  was  Herman  Husbands,  a  Penn- 
sylvanian  by]  birth,  and  a  disciple  of  Fox  and  Penn  by  educa 
tion.  His  residence  was  in  Randolph  County.  His  literary  ac 
quirements  were  very  limited,  as  is  apparent  from  his  mea 
gre  ani  unsatisfactory  history  of  the  Regulation;  but  there 
is  abundant  evidence  that  he  possessed  a  sound,  shrewd  un 
derstanding  ;  while  his  reputation  among  his  neighbors  was 
that  of  an  honest  man.  His  religious  principles  naturally 
inclined  him  to  peace,  but  the  manifold  irritations  and  op 
pressions  he  endured,  coupled  with  an  aptitude  and  taste 
for  popular  leadership,  gradually  seduced  him  into  the  use 
of  carnal  weapons."  Their  quarrel,  tbe  people  said,  was 
not  with  the  form  of  Government  nor  with  the  laws ;  but 
with  the  conduct  of  the  inferior  officers,  in  administering 
them.  This  was  the  statement  of  the  Granville  people, 
quoted  by  Husbands,  and  adopted  for  those  of  Orange.  The 
attorneys,  it  was  alleged,  exacted  twice  the  amount  of  the 
tax  fees  in  the  most  insignificant  cases:  and  if  any  litiga- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  61 

tion  or  contest  arose  in  a  case,  the  fees  demanded  equalled 
the  value  of  the  claim.  The  clerks  of  court  multiplied  and 
ran  up  bills  of  fees  many  times  greater  than  the  laws  al 
lowed;  the  sheriffs  did  likewise,  and  poor  men  standing 
alone  had  no  redress.  Hence  the  combinations,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  remonstrating  with  the  officers,  and,  that  failing,  pe 
titioning  the  Governor.  Even  these  invaluable  privileges 
were  denied,  and  meetings  of  the  people  held  for  such  pur 
poses  were  declared  to  be  seditious. 

The  people  complained  that  the  taxes  were  exorbitantly 
high.  The  Colonists  were  poor;  money  was  extremely 
scarce ;  and  in  that  day,  the  facilities  for  transportation  over 
rough  natural  roads  to  distant  markets  were  primitive.  It 
was  under  such  circumstances  that  Try  on  induced  the  As 
sembly  to  appropriate  fifteen  thousand  pounds  sterling 
(equal  to  seventy -five  thousand  dollars)  for  the  erection  of  a 
Governor's  house,  or  palace,  as  it  was  styled,  at  Newbern. 
This  "palace"  was  at  the  time  said,  to  be  the  most  stately 
residence  in  America — a  fact  of  itself  which  characterizes  the 
man,  and  the  class  to  which  he  belonged,  as  recklessly  indif 
ferent  to  the  welfare  of  the  people  over  whom  he  was  sent 
to  rule  without  their  consent.  This  extravagant  style  of 
expenditure,  in  connection  with  the  embezzlement  of  county 
and  colonial  funds,  and  the  extortion  of  the  officials,  was 
well  calculated  to  awaken  a  spirit  of  disaffection  among  the 
people.  - 

Repeated  attempts  were  made  to  obtain  redress  by  indict 
ing  the  clerks  and  other  officers  who  had  been  guilty  of  ex 
tortion;  and  when  they  were  found  guilty  in  form  by 
packed  juries,  the  damage  assessed  was  sixpence.  At 
length  the  people,  in  their  exasperation,  began  forcibly  to 
resist  the  enforcement  of  legal  process,  and  to  release  their 
friends  from  the  hands  of  the  sheriffs.  They  also  demanded 
an  exhibit  from  the  collectors  of  taxes,  of  their  accounts  and 
of  the  laws  under  which  they  acted.  Large  public  meetings 
were  held  for  this  purpose,  from  which  deputations  were 
sent  to  the  officers,  asking  an  explanation  on  these  points. 
No  definite  or  satisfactory  answer  could  be  obtained ;  and 
after  repeated  efforts  of  this  nature,  there  was  an  agreement 
to  refuse  the  payment  of  taxes.  Arrests  and  rescues  fol 
lowed  ;  and  armed  collisions  with  the  authorities,  amounting 
to  war,  was  the  result. 

Try  on  raised  a  force  of  several  hundred  men  in  the  spring 
of  1771,  and  marched  to  the  Enoe,  near  Hillsborough,  in 
Orange  County.  On  the  way  to  that  point  he  received  rein 
forcements  from  various  quarters.  The  regulators,  mus 
tered  by  the  activity  of  Husbands,  are  computed  at  not  less 
than  two  thousand,  without  discipline,  without  organization 
even.  One  half  of  this  rabble  was  poorly  armed  and 
equipped,  with  only  a  round  or  two  of  ammunition.  There 


62  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

was  skirmishing  for  a  day  or  two,  with  varied  success.  But 
on  the  15th  of  May,  the  two  parties  approached  within  a  few 
miles  of  each  other,  near  the  Alamance  Creek,  in  what  is 
now  a  county  of  that  name,  but  then  in  the  southwest  part 
of  Orange.  There  was  no  stomach  for  the  fight  on  either 
side;  and  the  first  day  was  spent  in  parleying.  On  the  16th 
the  two  forces  met  face  to  face;  and  then  it  was  not  without 
difficulty  that  Try  on,  having  summoned  the  rebels  to  sur 
render,  and  being  answered  with  defiance,  could  induce  his 
troops  to  fire  on  the  mob.  He  succeeded  at  length,  however, 
and  a  fight  of  some  hours  ensued.  Tryon's  force  was  organ 
ized  into  companies  and  battalions,  well  armed,  and  in  some 
degree  disciplined.  He  had  also  the  advantage  of  having 
nearly  all  the  best-trained  officers  in  the  Province  on  his 
side;  while  the  regulators  had  no  officer  higher  than  the 
grade  of  captain  who  had  ever  seen  service,  and  only  two 
of  these.  A  triumph  of  the  government  forces  was  a  mat 
ter  of  course,  with  a  loss  of  nine  killed  and  sixty  wounded, 
against  a  loss  by  the  regulators  of  twenty  killed  and  a  num 
ber  wound.  The  mob  of  regulators  took  to  flight.  Only 
about  a  dozen  were  made  prisoners,  of  whom  seven  were 
executed — one  of  them  a  religious  maniac.  This  was  Cap 
tain  Few,  who  was,  on  Tryon's  order,  without  a  trial,  hung 
on  a  tree  on  the  evening  of  the  battle.  The  murder  of  this 
unfortunate  man  was  followed  in  a  few  days  by  the  trial  of 
the  other  prisoners  by  a  court  of  oyer  and  terminer,  all  of 
whom  were  condemned  to  death  for  high  treason,  and  six 
of  them  executed. 

Thus  ended  the  war  of  the  Eegulation.  It  was  a  genuine 
struggle  for  liberty,  and  deserves  to  have  a  place  among  the 
events  in  the  history  of  British  rule  in  America,  which  led 
to  the  Revolution. 


SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Rumors  of  the  arrival  of  the  stamp  paper  having  reached 
Charleston,  the  Assembly  of  the  Colony  addressed  a  letter 
to  Lieutenant-governor  Bull,  inquiring  if  such  were  the  fact; 
and  if  he  were  authorized  to  put  the  law  in  force.  He  re 
plied  in  the  affirmative,  and  that  he  received  the  act,  and  the 
power  under  it,  from  the  Governor  of  the  Province,  Boone, 
who  was  then  on  a  visit  to  England.  The  Assembly,  in  re 
ply,  took  exception  to  the  channel  through  which  the  law 
came  to  the  Province,  the  Governor  when  abroad,  they 
held,  having  no  more  authority  than  a  private  citizen.  The 
Assembly  came  to  the  following  resolutions  on  the  subject : 

''Resolved,  That  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  Carolina  owe 
the  same  allegiance  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  that  is 
due  from  his  subjects  there.  That  his  Majesty's  liege  sub- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  63 

jects  of  this  Province  are  entitled  to  all  the  inherent  rights 
and  liberties  of  his  natural  born  subjects  within  the  king 
dom  of  Great  Britain.  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province 
appear  also  to  be  confirmed  in  all  the  rights  aforementioned, 
not  only  by  their  charter,  but  by  an  act  of  Parliament,  13th 
George  II.  That  it  is  inseparably  essential  to  the  freedom  of 
a  people,  and  the  undoubted  right  of  Englishmen,  that  no 
taxes  be  imposed  on  them  but  w ith  their  own  consent.  That 
the  people  of  this  Province  are  not,  and  from  their  local 
circumstances  cannot  be,  represented  in  the  House  of  Com 
mons  in  Great  Britain ;  and,  further,  that,  in  the  opinion  of 
this  House,  the  several  powers  of  legislation  in  Ameriea 
were  constituted  in  some  measure  upon  the  apprehension  of 
this  impracticability.  That  the  only  representatives  of  the 
people  of  this  Province  are  persons  chosen  therein  by  them 
selves;  and  that  no  taxes  ever  have  been  or  can  be  consti 
tutionally  imposed  on  them  but  by  the  legislature  of  this 
Province.  That  all  supplies  to  the  Crown  being  free  gifts  of 
the  people,  it  is  unreasonable,  and  inconsistent  with  the 
spirit  of  the  British  Constitution,  for  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  to  grant  to  his  Majesty  the  property  of  the  people  of 
this  Province.  That  an  act  of  Parliament  entitled  an  '  Act 
for  Granting  and  Applying  Certain  Stamp  Duties  on  the  Brit 
ish  Colonies  and  Plantations  in  America,'  etc.,  by  imposing 
taxes  on  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province,  and  the  said  act, 
and  several  other  acts,  by  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Courts  of  Admiralty  beyond  its  ancient  limits,  have  a  man 
ifest  tendency  to  subvert  the  rights  and  liberties  of  this 
Province.  That  the  duties  imposed  by  several  late  acts  of 
Parliament  on  the  people  of  this  Province  will  be  extremely 
burdensome  and  grievous,  and,  from  the  scarcity  of  gold 
and  silver,  the  payment  of  them  absolutely  impracticable. 
That,  as  the  profits  of  the  trade  of  the  people  of  this  Prov 
ince  ultimately  centre  in  Great  Britain,  to  pay  for  the  man 
ufactures  they  are  obliged  to  take  from  thence  they  event 
ually  contribute  very  largely  to  all  the  supplies  granted  to 
the  Crown,  etc." 

"  Having  thus  expressed  their  sentiments,"  says  Drayton, 
uthe  commons  House  of  Assembly  appointed  Thomas 
Lynch,  Christopher  Gadsden,  and  John  Eutledge,  a  com 
mittee  to  meet  the  committee  from  other  Provinces  at  New- 
York,  in  October  following.  .  .  . 

"While  these  matters  were  carrying  on,  the  stamped  pa 
pers  arrived  in  the  various  seaports  of  the  Colonies,  and 
greatly  excited  the  feelings  of  the  people.  At  this  time  a 
sloop  of -war  had  arrived  in  Charleston  harbor,  with  a  por 
tion  of  them,  casting  anchor  under  the  coyer  of  the  cannon 
of  Fort  Johnson ;  and  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  effected 
to  devise  means  for  preventing  the  landing  of  the  same. 
The  garrison  of  Fort  Johnson  was  known  to  consist  only  of 


64  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

a  commandant,  a  gunner,  and  twelve  or  fourteen  privates; 
and  Lloyd,  the  commandant,  mostly  resided  in  Charleston; 
hence  the  command  and  care  of  the  fort  frequently  devolved 
on  the  gunner.  These  things  being  considered,  the  meeting 
thought  proper  to  appoint  a  committee  for  further  purposes, 
and  Daniel  Cannon,  William  Williamson,  Edward  Weyman, 
and  others  were  nominated  members  of  the  same ;  who,  un 
derstanding  sufficiently  the  motives  of  their  appointment 
and  the  wishes  of  the  meeting,  entered  zealously  on  their 
duties  respecting  the  matters  they  had  in  charge. 

"  "VVhether  the  government  was  informed  of  these  meas 
ures  is  not  ascertained ;  but  the  public  ferment  was  known 
to  be  so  great,  it  was  deemed  advisable  not  to  bring  the 
stamped  papers  up  to  Charleston,  but  to  land  them  at 
Fort  Johnson.  The  committee  soon  received  information  of 
this  proceeding;  and  a  private  meeting  of  confidential  citi 
zens  being  called,  it  was  resolved,  the  committee  be  author 
ized  to  obtain  the  stamped  paper  so  deposited  at  the  fort, 
and,  to  furnish  the  means  of  doing  so,  that  a  body  of  volun 
teers  should  be  selected  and  procured  by  them  with  the  ut 
most  promptness  and  success.  Accordingly,  about  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  volunteers  were  soon  organized  and  armed 
for  the  purpose;  and  two  nights  after,  boats  being  provided 
at  Lam  boll's  Bridge,  on  the  West  and  South  Bay,  they  formed 
and  marched  towards  that  place  for  embarkation.  From 
thence,  they  proceeded  in  boats  across  Ashley  River;  and 
landed  at  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  on  James'  Island,  between 
Styles'  plantation  and  the  fort.  .  They  then  proceeded 
towards  the  fort ;  and  halting  at  a  small  distance  from  it, 
a  reconnoitering  party  was  sent  forward.  This  party  pro 
ceeded  to  the  drawbridge  unnoticed  or  unchallenged  by 
sentries,  and,  finding  it  down,  through  the  omission  of  the 
garrison,  they  immediately  returned  and  reported  the  same. 
The  whole  body  of  volunteers  then  advanced  upon  the  fort; 
and  arriving  at  the  bridge,  they  crossed  it  without  opposi 
tion,  pressed  through  the  main  gate,  which  was  not  secured, 
and  immediately  possessed  themselves  of  the  fort.  Only 
one  soldier  was  found  awake ;  and  before  he  could  give  the 
alarm,  the  remainder  of  the  garrison  was  secured  except' 
Governor  Lloyd,  [the  commander  was  so  called,]  who  had 
not  slept  there  that  night.  The  garrison  were  then  placed 
under  guard,  the  bridge  was  drawn  up,  and  a  search  com 
menced  for  the  obnoxious  stamped  paper.  This,  to  the 
great  joy  of  the  volunteers,  was  at  length  found  in  one  of 
the  rooms  of  the  barracks,  and  a  guard  was  placed  over  it. 
Preparations  were  then  made  for  maintaining  the  fort 
against  any  attack  which  might  be  made  upon  it  by  the 
sloop-of-war  when  daylight  should  arrive;  and  for  this 
purpose  the  cannon  on  the  platforms  were  loaded  with  ball 
and  grape-shot;  matches  were  prepared,  and  a  number  of 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  65 

men  were  stationed  at  each  gun ;  and  a  flag  showing  a  blue 
field  with  three  white  crescents,  which  the  volunteers  had 
brought  with  them  for  the  purpose,  was  hoisted  on  the  flag 
staff  of  the  fort.  When  daylight  appeared,  the  crescent 
banner  waved  gayly  on  the  wind,  and  soon  attracted  the  at 
tention  of  the  sloop-of-war.  A  boat  was  then  despatched 
from  her  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  so  unusual  a  display,  and 
persons  were  sent  from  the  fort  to  meet  the  boat  at  the  land 
ing-place,  where,  on  the  landing  of  the  British  officer,  he  in 
quired  the  meaning  of  the  flag;  on  which  he  was  invited 
into  the  fort,  and  was  told  he  would  then  be  informed.  At 
first  he  appeared  doubtful  whether  he  should  proceed ;  but 
on  being  assured  protection,  and  that  he  would  be  allowed 
to  return  to  his  boat,  he  accepted  of  the  invitation.  On  his 
arrival  in  the  fort,  he  was  taken  along  the  platforms,  where 
he  found  each  gun  manned  and  loaded,  and  the  fort  pre 
pared  for  action ;  he  was  also  shown  the  late  garrison  under 
a  guard  as  prisoners.  When  the  impression  had  been  made 
upon  him  which  was  intended,  he  was  told  it  was  the  fixed 
determination  of  the  volunteers  to  proceed  to  burn  all  the 
stamped  paper  which  they  had  seized  unless  the  commanding 
officer  would  pledge  his  honor  immediately  to  receive  it  on 
board  and  forthwith  depart  with  it.  It  was  further  intimat 
ed  to  him,  that  if  the  sloop  should  fire  on  the  fort,  they  were 
resolved  to  repel  force  by  force;  and  to  these  matters  an 
answer  was  requested  from  the  sloop-of-war  as  soon  as  pos 
sible.  The  officer  then  took  his  leave,  and  returned  in  the 
boat.  In  two  hours  he  returned  with  the  boats  of  the  sloop, 
saying  his  commander  would  receive  the  stamped  papers 
and  forthwith  depart,  when  they  were  delivered  to  him; 
and,  returning  with  them  to  the  sloop,  she  weighed  anchor 
in  the  afternoon  and  proceeded  to  sea.  The  object  of  the 
expedition  being  so  happily  effected,  the  garrison  were  re 
leased  from  confinement  and  put  in  possession  of  the  fort ; 
and  the  volunteers  returned  with  their  colors  to  Charles 
ton,  by  the  same  way  in  which  they  had  proceeded,  hav 
ing  fulfilled  the  wishes  and  expectations  of  their  fellow-citi 
zens,  without  injuring  or  hurting  any  person  whatsoever." 
*  This  bold  enterprise  ended  the  attempt  to  enforce  the 
Stamp  Act  in  South  Carolina.  A  suspicion  was  awakened 
in  the  minds  of  some,  that  certain  of  the  officials  were  in 
possession  of  stamped  paper,  and  that  they  only  waited  for 
the  excitement  to  subside,  when  they  would  attempt  to  use 
the  stamps.  The  result  was  that  their  houses  were  searched 
by  the  mob,  not  in  the  most  delicate  way,  but  no  stamps 
were  found ;  and  the  public  mind  then  quieted  down. 


66  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

GEORGIA. 

From  Stevens'  History  of  Georgia. 

"As  soon  as  Mr.  Wylly,  the  speaker  of  the  commons 
House  of  Assembly,  received  the  letter  (from  Massachusetts), 
he  despatched  expresses  to  the  members,  and  sixteen  mem 
bers — nearly  two  thirds  of  the  entire  number — responded  to 
his  call,  by  convening  in  Savannah  on  the  2d  of  September, 
1765.  This  body  replied  to  the  Massachusetts  resolutions 
by  a  letter  intimating  their  hearty  co-operation  in  every 
measure  for  ihe  support  of  their  common  rights ;  but  through 
the  influence  of  Governor  Wright,  they  were  prevented 
from  sending  delegates  to  the  proposed  Congress  (at  New 
York)." 

"On  the  5th  of  December  (1765),  his  Majesty's  ship  Speed 
well,  Captain  Fanshawe,  with  the  stamps,  arrived  in  the 
river,  and  the  papers  were  secretly  transferred  to  Fort  Hal 
ifax,  and  placed  under  the  care  of  the  commissary ;  for  the 
'Liberty  Boys,'  as  they  were  then  termed,  had  entered 
into  an  association  to  prevent  the  distribution  of  the  papers, 
and  to  compel  the  officer  to  resign  as  soon  as  he  arrived. 
To  oppose  these  measures,  Governor  Wright  summoned  all 
his  energies,  and  labored  day  and  night,  in  public  and  in 
private,  and,  by  his  commanding  influence,  ably  seconded 
by  his  Council,  was  partially  successful.  Secret  meetings, 
however,  were  often  held,  all  business  was  stopped,  and  the 
Province  remained  in  a  state  of  anxious  agitation.  .  .  . 

"On  the  2d  of  January,  1766,  about  3  P.M.,  Captains 
Milledge  and  Powell  informed  the  Governor  that  nearly  two 
hundred  Liberty  Boys  had  assembled  together,  threaten 
ing  to  break  open  the  fort  and  destroy  the  papers.  The 
Governor  immediately  ordered  the  two  companies  of  rang 
ers,  numbering  fifty-four  men,  to  attend  him,  and  marched 
on  the  fort,  took  out  the  stamps,  placed  them  in  a  cart,  and, 
escorted  by  the  military,  conveyed  them  to  the  guard-house. 
The  people  looked  on  in  sullen  silence,  which  gave  the  Gov 
ernor  so  much  alarm  that  for  many  days  he  kept  a  guard 
of  forty  men  over  his  house,  and  during  four  nights  was  in 
such  anxiety  and  fear  that  he  did  not  remove  his  clothes." 

The  next  day  (January  3d),  the  Governor  was  informed 
of  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Angus,  the  stamp-distributor,  at  Tybee, 
and  took  precautions  to  have  him  Brought  in  great  secrecy 
up  to  Savannah,  where  he  was  quartered  in  the  Governor's 
residence.  But  even  in  that  retreat,  guarded  by  soldiers, 
the  stamp-distributor  felt  insecure,  and  in  a  fortnight  left 
the  town.  The  whole  Province  sympathized  with  the  peo- 

§le  of  Savannah ;  and  toward  the  close  of  January,  six  hun- 
red  men  assembled  within  a  few  miles  of  the  town,  and 
informed  the  Governor  that,  unless  the  stamps  were  removed, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  67 

they  would  march  into  the  town,  destroy  the  fort  and  his 
dwelling,  as  well  as  the  stamps.  He  accordingly  sent  the 
stamps  down  to  Fort  George,  at  Cockspur  Island,  under 
charge  of  the  rangers.  "But  even  this  was  not  deemed 
sufficient  security;  and  on  the  3d  of  February  they  were 
once  more  removed,  and  deposited  on  board  the  man-of-war 
Speedwell,  which  had  brought  them  to  the  Colony." 

A  riotous  meeting  took  place,  at  which  the  Governor  was 
burned  in  effigy. 

There  being  some  sixty  vessels  in  the  harbor,  the  reso 
lution  of  the  people  was  so  far  overcome  by  the  private 
interest  of  the  merchants  as  to  admit  of  the  sale  of  stamps 
necessary  to  secure  clearances.  But  the  courts  were  entire 
ly  closed  and  all  legal  transactions  suspended.  The  relax 
ation,  as  it  regarded  the  shipping  interest,  however,  created 
great  indignation  in  South  Carolina. 


CHAPTER  II. 

RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF   LORDS  IN  REGARD  TO  MASSA 
CHUSETTS. 

In  the  House  of  Lords,  December  15,  1768,  a  series  of 
resolutions  were  adopted  with  reference  to  the  condition  of 
affairs  in  Massachusetts  Bay.  It  was  resolved  that  the  res 
olutions  and  proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Assembly 
which  deny  the  right  of  Parliament  to  pass  laws  that  bind 
the  Colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever  "are  illegal,  unconsti 
tutional,  and  derogatory  of  the  rights  of  the  Crown  and 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain." 

"That  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
that  Province,  to  write  letters  to  the  several  Houses  of  Rep 
resentatives,  of  the  British  Colonies  desiring  them  to  join  in 
netitions,  which  deny  or  draw  in  question  the  right  of  Par 
liament  to  impose  duties  or  taxes  on  his  Majesty's  subjects 
in  America,  kare  proceedings  of  the  most  unwarrantable 
and  dangerous  nature,  calculated  to  inflame  the  minds  of  his 
Majesty's  subjects  in  the  other  Colonies,  tending  to  create 
unlawful  combinations,  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  Great 
Britain,  and  subversive  of  the  Constitution. 

"  That  the  town  of  Boston  has  for  some  time  past  been  in 
a  state  of  great  disorder  and  confusion,  and  been  disturbed 
by  riot  and  tumults.  That  neither  the  Council  of  the  Prov 
ince  nor  the  civil  magistrates  did  exert  their  authority  for 
suppressing  the  riots  and  tumults. 

"That  the  preservation  of  the  public  peace  became  im 
practicable  without  the  aid  of  a  military  force  to  support 
the  civil  magistrates  and  the  officers  of  the  revenue. 

"That  the  resolutions  and  proceedings  of  the  town  meet- 


68  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

ings  in  Boston  on  the  14th  of  June  and  12th  of  September 
*  were  illegal  and  unconstitutional,  and  calculated  to  excite 
sedition  and  insurrections  in  his  Majesty's  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay.' 

"That  the  appointment,  at  the  town  meeting  on  the  12th 
of  September,  of  a  convention  to  be  held  in  the  town  of  Bos 
ton  on  the  22d  of  that  month,  to  consist  of  deputies  from 
the  several  towns  and  districts  in  the  Province  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  and  the  issuing  a  precept  by  the  select-men  of 
the  town  of  Boston  to  each  of  the  said  towns  and  districts, 
for  the  election  of  said  deputies,  were  proceedings  subver 
sive  of  his  Majesty's  government,  and  evidently  manifesting 
a  design  in  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  town  of  Boston  to  set 
up  a  new  and  unconstitutional  authority  independent  of  the 
Crown  of  Great  Britain. 

"  That  the  elections  by  the  several  towns  and  districts,  of 
deputies  to  sit  in  the  said  convention,  and  the  meeting  of 
such  convention,  '  were  daring  insults  offered  to  his  Majes 
ty's  authority,  and  audacious  usurpations  of  the  powers  of 
government.' 

These  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  House  of  Commons, 
with  slight  verbal  amendments.  The  address  agreed  to  by 
the  Lords  was  also  adopted  by  the  Commons  with  a  single 
verbal  change.  As  agreed  to  by  both  Houses  and  sent  up 
to  the  King,  it  is  as  follows : 

"And  the  Duke  of  Bedford  reported  from  the  committee 
an  address,  drawn  by  them,  as  follows : 

"'MOST  GRACIOUS  SOVEREIGN: 

"  '  We,  your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects,  the 
Lords,  spiritual  and  temporal,  in  Parliament  assembled, 
return  your  Majesty  our  humble  thanks  for  the  communi 
cation  your  Majesty  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  make  to 
your  Parliament  of  several  papers  relative  to  public  trans 
actions  in  your  Majesty's  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

"We  beg  leave  to  express  to  your  Majesty  our  sincere 
satisfaction  in  the  measures  which  your  Majesty  has  pur 
sued  for  supporting  the  Constitution  and  for  inducing  a  due 
obedience  to  the  authority  of  the  Legislature;  and  to  give 
your  Majesty  the  strongest  assurances  that  we  will  effect 
ually  stand  by  and  support  your  Majesty  ia  such  further 
measures  as  may  be  found  necessary  to  maintain  the  civil 
magistrates  in  a  due  execution  of  the  laws  within  your 
Majesty's  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay ;  and  as  we  con 
ceive  that  nothing  can  be  more  immediately  necessary, 
either  for  the  maintenance  of  your  Majesty's  authority  in 
the  said  Province,  or  for  guarding  your  Majesty's  subjects 
therein  from  being  further  deluded  by  the  arts  of  wicked 
and  designing  men  than  to  proceed  in  the  most  speedy  and 
effectual  manner  for  bringing  to  condign  punishment  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  69 

Chief  authors  and  instigators  of  the  late  disorders,— we  most 
humbly  beseech  your  Majesty  that  you  will  be  graciously 
pleased  to  direct  your  Majesty's  Governor  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  to  take  the  most  effectual  methods  for  securing  the 
fullest  information  that  can  be  obtained  touching  all  treasons 
or  misprissions  of  treason  committed  within  his  Government 
since  the  thirtieth  day  of  December,  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  sixty -seven,  and  to  transmit  the  same,  to 
gether  with  the  names  of  the  persons  who  were  most  active 
in  the  commission  of  such  offences,  to  one  of  your  Majesty's 
principal  Secretaries  of  State  in  order  that  your  Majesty 
may  issue  a  special  commission  for  inquiry  of,  hearing,  and 
determining  the  said  offences,  within  this  realm,  pursuant 
to  the  provisions  of  the  statute  of  the  thirty-fifth  year  of 
the  reign  of  King  Henry  the  Eighth  in  case  your  Majesty 
shall,  upon  receiving  the  said  information,  see  sufficient 
ground  for  such  a  proceeding. '  " 

The  following  is  the  Act  of  35th  Henry  VIII.  referred  to 
in  the  foregoing  proceedings: 

"Cap.  11. 

"An  act  for  the  trial  of  treasons  committed  out  of  the 
King's  dominions  (35th  Henry  VIII.  1543). 

"I.  Forasmuch  as  some  doubts  and  questions  have  been 
moved  that  certain  kinds  of  treasons,  misprisons,  and  con 
cealments  of  treasons  done,  perpetrated,  or  committed  out 
of  the  King's  Majesty's  realm  of  England,  and  other  his 
Grace's  dominions  cannot,  nor  may  by  the  common  laws  of 
this  realm,  be  inquired  of,  heard,  and  determined  within  this 
his  said  realm  of  England:  (2)  for  a  plain  remedy,  order, 
and  declaration  therein  to  be  had  and  made,  be  it  enacted 
by  authority  of  this  present  Parliament,  That  all  manner  of 
offences,  being  already  made  and  declared,  or  hereafter  to 
be  made  or  declared,  by  any  of  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this 
realm  to  be  treasons,  misprisons  of  treasons  or  conceal 
ments  of  treasons,  and  done,  perpetrated,  or  committed,  or 
hereafter  to  be  done,  perpetrated,  or  committed  by  any  per 
son  or  persons  out  of  this  realm  of  England,  shall  be  from 
henceforth  inquired  of,  heard,  and  determined  before  the 
King's  Justices  of  his  Bench  for  pleas  to  be  holden  before 
himself,  by  good  and  lawful  men  of  the  same  shire  where 
the  said  bench  shall  sit  and  be  kept ;  (3)  or  else  before  such 
commissioners,  and  in  such  shire  of  the  realm,  as  shall  be 
assigned  by  the  Kind's  Majesty's  Commission,  and  by  good 
and  lawful  men  of  the  same  shire,  in  like  manner  and  form, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  if  such  treasons,  misprisons 
of  treasons,  or  concealments  9f  treasons  had  been  done, 
perpetrated,  and  committed  within  the  same  shire  where 


70  THE  BIRTH  OF  TEE  REPUBLIC. 

they  shall  be  so  inquired  of,  heard,  and  determined,  as  is 
aforesaid. 

4 'II.  Provided  always.  That  if  any  of  the  peers  of  this 
realm  shall  happen  to  he  indicted  of  any  such  treasons,  or 
other  offences  aforesaid,  hy  the  authority  of  this  act,  that 
then  after  such  indictment,  they  shall  have  their  trial  by 
their  peers  in  such  like  manner  and  form  as  hath  heretofore 
been  accustomed. 

' '  House  of  Lords. 

"  Tuesday,  February  7,  1775. 

"  A  message  was  brought  from  the  House  of  Commons  by 
the  Lord  George  Germaine  and  others,  to  desire  a  confer 
ence  with  this  House  upon  the  state  of  his  Majesty's  Colo 
nies  in  North  America.  To  which  the  House  agreed.  The 
messengers  were  again  called  in  and  told  *  that  the  Lords 
agree  to  a,  conference,  as  is  desired,  and  appoint  the  same 
presently  in  the  Painted  Chamber.' 

"The  House  being  informed  'that  the  managers  for  the 
Commons  were  ready  for  the  conference  in  the  Painted 
Chamber.' 

"The  names  of  the  managers  for  the  Lords  were  called 
over,  and  the  House  was  adjourned  during  pleasure  and  the 
Lords  went  to  the  conference ; 

' '  Which  being  ended,  the  House  resumed,  and  the  Lord 
President  reported  'that  they  had  met  the  managers  for 
the  Commons  at  the  conference,'  which,  on  the  part  of  the 
Commons,  was  managed  by  the  Lord  North ;  who  acquainted 
the  managers  for  the  Lords  '  that  they,  having  taken  into 
their  consideration  the  state  of  his  Majesty's  Colonies  in 
North  America,  have  agreed  upon  an  address  to  be  pre 
sented  to  his  Majesty,'  to  which  they  desire  the  concurrence 
of  this  House.  Then  his  Lordship  read  the  address  delivered 
at  the  said  conference  as  follows: 

"'MOST  GRACIOUS  SOVEREIGN: 

"  '  We,  your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects  the 
.  .  .  Commons,  in  Parliament  assembled,  return  your  Ma 
jesty  our  most  humble  thanks  for  having  been  graciously 
pleased  to  communicate  to  us  the  several  papers  relating  to 
the  present  state  of  the  British  Colonies  in  America,  which 
by  your  Majesty's  command  have  been  laid  before  us.  We 
have  taken  them  into  our  most  serious  consideration,  and 
we  find  that  a  part  of  your  Majesty's  subjects  in  the  Prov 
ince  of  Massachusetts  Bay  have  proceeded  so  far  as  to  resist 
the  authority  of  the  Supreme  Legislature ;  that  a  rebellion 
at  this  time  actually  exists  within  the  said  Province;  anl 
we  see  with  the  utmost  concern  that  they  have  been  coun 
tenanced  and  encouraged  by  unlawful  combinations  and 
engagements  entered  into  by  your  Majesty's  subjects  in 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  71 

several  of  the  other  Colonies  to  the  injury  and  oppression  of 
many  of  their  innocent  fellow-subjects  resident  within  the 
kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  the  rest  of  your  Majesty's 
dominions.  This  conduct  on  their  part  appears  to  us  the 
more  inexcusable  when  we  consider  with  how  much  temper 
your  Majesty  and  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament  have  acted 
in  support  of  the  laws  and  constitution  of  Great  Britain. 
We  can  never  so  far  desert  the  trust  reposed  in  us  as  to  re 
linquish  any  part  of  the  sovereign  authority  over  all  your 
Majesty's  dominions,  which,  by  law,  is  vested  in  your 
Majesty  and  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament;  and  the  con 
duct  of  many  persons  in  several  of  the  Colonies  during  the 
late  disturbances  is  alone  sufficient  to  convince  us  how  neces 
sary  the  power  is  for  the  protection  of  the  li ves  and  fortunes 
of  all  your  Majesty's  subjects. 

"  *  We  ever  have  been  and  always  shall  be  ready  to  pay 
attention  and  regard  to  any  real  grievances  of  any  of  your 
Majesty's  subjects  which  shall  in  a  dutiful  and  constitutional 
manner  be  laid  before  us ;  and  whenever  any  of  the  Colonies 
shall  make  a  proper  application  to  us,  we  shall  be  ready  to 
afford  them  every  just  and  reasonable  indulgence.  At  the 
same  time  we  consider  it  as  our  indispensable  duty  humbly 
to  beseech  your  Majesty  that  you  will  take  the  most  effectual 
measures  to  enforce  due  obedience  to  the  laws  and  authority 
of  the  Supreme  Legislature ;  and  we  beg  leave,  in  the  most 
solemn  manner,  to  assure  your  Majesty  that  it  is  our  fixed 
resolution,  at  the  hazard  of  our  lives  and  properties,  to  stand 
by  your  Majesty  against  all  rebellious  attempts  in  the  main 
tenance  of  the  just  rights  of  your  Majesty  and  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament.' " 

Copy  of  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons,  27th  Feb 
ruary,  1775,  inclosed  by  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  in  his  cir 
cular-letter  to  the  Governors  of  the  Colonies,  dated  March 
3,  1775: 

*'  Resolved,  That  when  the  Governor,  Council,  and 
Assembly,  or  General  Court  of  any  of  his  Majesty's  Prov 
inces  or  Colonies  in  America  shall  propose  to  make  pro 
vision,  according  to  the  condition,  circumstances,  and  situa 
tion  of  such  Province  or  Colony,  for  contributing  their  pro 
portion  to  the  common  defence  (such  proportion  to  be  raised 
under  the  authority  of  the  General  Court  or  General  Assem 
bly  of  such  Province  or  Colony,  and  disposable  by  Parlia 
ment),  and  shall  engage  to  make  provision  also  for  the  sup 
port  of  the  civil  government  and  the  administration  of 
justice  in  such  Province  or  Colony,  it  will  be  proper,  if  such 
proposal  shall  be  approved  by  his  Majesty  and  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament,  and  for  so  long  as  such  provision 
shall  be  made  accordingly,  to  forbear  in  respect 'of  such 
Province  or  Colony,  to  levy  any  duty,  tax,  or  assessment, 
or  to  impose  any  further  duty,  tax,  or  assessment,  except 


72  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

only  such  duties  as  it  may  be  expedient  to  continue  to  levy 
or  to  impose  for  the  regulation  of  commerce ;  the  net  produce 
of  the  duties  last  mentioned  to  be  carried  to  the  account  af 
such  Province  or  Colony  respectively." 

Letter  of  John  Pownall,  Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Trade, 
to  the  Governors  of  the  several  Colonies  in  North  America: 

"  WHITEHALL,  April  5,  1775. 

"  Sm:  I  have  the  honor  to  send  you  herewith,  by  Lord  Dart 
mouth's  directions,  an  act  of  Parliament  to  which  his  Majesty 
gave  the  royal  assent  on  Friday  last,  entitled,  'An  act  to 
restrain  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  Provinces  of  Massa 
chusetts  Bay  and  New  Hampshire,  and  Colonies  of  Connecti 
cut  and  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantation,  in  North 
America,  to  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and  the  British  islands 
in  the  West  Indies,  and  to  prohibit  such  Provinces  and 
Colonies  from  carrying  on  any  fishery  on  the  banks  of  New 
foundland  or  other  places  therein  mentioned,  under  certain 
conditions  and  limitations,'  and  I  am  to  desire  that  you  be 
pleased  to  cause  the  said  act  to  be  made  public  in  such  man 
ner  as  has  been  usual  on  like  occasions. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"JOHN  POWNALL." 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END. 

"Proceedings  of  the  Congress  held  at  Philadelphia. 

"September  5,  1774. 

"  A  NUMBER  of  the  delegates  chosen  and  appointed  by  the 
several  Colonies  and  Provinces  in  North  America,  to  meet 
and  hold  a  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  assembled  at  the  Car 
penter's  Hall. 

"  Tuesday,  Sept.  6,  1774,  10  o'clock  A.M. 

"The  Congress  met  according  to  adjournment. 

"Present— The  same  members  as  yesterday,  and  more 
over,  from  the  Colony  of  Virginia,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Esq. 

' '  The  Congress  resuming  the  consideration  of  rules  of  con 
duct  to  be  observed  in  debating  and  determining  the  ques 
tions  that  come  under  consideration, — 

' '  Resolved,  That  in  determining  questions  in  this  Congress 
each  Colony  or  Province  shall  have  one  vote,  the  Congress 
not  being  possessed  of  or  at  present  able  to  procure  proper 
materials  for  ascertaining  the  importance  of  each  Colony. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  73 

' '  Resolved,  That  no  person  shall  speak  more  than  twice 
on  the  same  point  without  leave  of  the  Congress. 

''Resolved,  That  no  question  shall  be  determined  the  day 
on  which  it  is  agitated  and  debated  if  any  one  of  the  Colo 
nies  desires  the  determination  postponed  to  another  day. 

"Resolved,  That  the  doors  be  kept  shut  during  the  time  of 
business,  and  that  the  members  consider  themselves  under 
the  strongest  obligations  of  honor  to  keep  the  proceedings 
secret  until  the  majority  shall  direct  them  to  be  made 
public. 

4 "Resolved  unanimously,  That  a  committee  be  appointed 
to  state  the  rights  of  the  Colonies  in  general,  the  several  in 
stances  in  which  these  rights  are  violated  or  infringed,  and 
the  means  most  proper  to  be  pursued  for  obtaining  a  restora 
tion  of  them. 

"Ordered,  That  the  appointment  of  the  committee  and 
the  number  of  which  it  shall  consist  be  deferred  until  to 
morrow. 

' '  Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  examine,  and 
report  the  several  statutes  which  affect  the  trade  and  manu 
factures  of  the  Colonies.  Same  order  as  above  respecting 
the  appointment  and  number  of  this  committee. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Rev.  Mr.  Duche,  be  desired  to  open 
the  Congress  to-morrow  morning,  with  prayers,  at  the  Car 
penter's  Hall,  at  9  o'clock. 

"Adjourned  to  5  o'clock  this  afternoon. 

"Wednesday,  Sept.  14,  1774. 

"  The  Congress  met  according  to  adjournment. 

"William  Hooper  and  Joseph  Hewes,  Esqrs.,  two  of  the 
deputies  from  North  Carolina,  attended  the  Congress  and 
produced  their  credentials.  Henry  Wisner,  a  delegate  from 
the  county  of  Orange,  in  the  Colony  of  New  York,  appeared 
at  Congress  and  produced  a  certificate  of  his  election  by  the 
said  county,  which,  being  read  and  approved,  he  took  his  seat 
in  Congress  as  a  deputy  for  the  Colony  of  New  York. 

George  Ross,  Esq.,  one  of  the  delegates  for  the  Province  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  John  Alsop,  Esq.,  one  of  the  delegates  for 
the  Colony  of  New  York,  appeared  and  took  their  seats  in 
Congress. 

"The  delegates  from  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
agreeable  to  a  request  from  the  joint  committees  of  every 
town  and  district  in  the  county  of  Middlesex  in  the  said 
Province,  communicated  to  the  Congress  the  proceedings  of 
those  committees  at  Concord,  on  the  30th  and  31st  days  of 
August  last,  which  were  read. 

"  Adjourned  till  to-morrow  at  9  o'clock. 

"  Saturday,  Sept,  17,  1774,  A.M. 

"The  Congress  met  according  to  adjournment. 

"Richard  Caswell,  Esq.,  one  of  the  deputies  from  North 
Carolina,  appeared  and  took  his  seat  in  Congress. 


74  THE  EUITH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"  The  resolutions  entered  into  by  the  delegates  from  the 
several  towns  and  districts  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  in  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  on  Tuesday  the  6th  instant, 
and  their  address  to  his  Excellency,  Governor  Gage,  dated 
the  9th  instant,  were  laid  before  the  Congress. 

"  The  Congress  taking  the  foregoing  resolutions  into  con 
sideration  : 

"Resolved,  unanimously.  That  this  assembly  deeply  feels 
the  suffering  of  their  countrymen  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay, 
under  the  operation  of  the  late  unjust,  cruel,  and  oppressive 
acts  of  the  British  Parliament ;  that  they  most  thoroughly 
approve  the  wisdom  and  fortitude  with  which  opposition  to 
these  wicked  ministerial  measures  has  hitherto  been  con 
ducted,  and  they  earnestly  recommend  to  their  brethren  a 
perseverance  in  the  same  firm  and  temperate  conduct  as  ex 
pressed  in  the  resolutions  determined  upon  at  a  meeting  of 
the  delegates  for  the  county  of  Suffolk  on  Tuesday  the  6fch 
instant,  trusting  that  the  effect  of  the  united  efforts  of  North 
America  in  their  behalf,  will  carry  such  conviction  to  the 
British  nation  of  the  unwise,  unjust,  and  ruinous  policy  of 
the  present  administration,  as  quickly  to  introduce  better 
men  and  wiser  measures. 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  contributions  from  all  the 
Colonies  for  supplying  the  necessities  and  alleviating  the 
distresses  of  our  brethren  at  Boston,  ought  to  be  continued 
in  such  manner,  and  so  long  as  their  occasions  may  require. 

"  Ordered,  That  a  copy  of  the  above  resolutions  be  trans 
mitted  to  Boston  by  the  President. 

"Ordered,  That  these  resolutions,  together  with  the  reso 
lutions  of  the  county  of  Suffolk,  be  published  in  the  news 
papers. 

"The  committee  appointed  to  examine  and  report  the 
several  statutes  which  affect  the  trade  and  manufactures  of 
the  Colonies  brought  in  their  report,  which  was  ordered  to 
lie  on  the  table. 

"Adjourned  till  Monday  morning. 

"  Thursday,  Sept.  22,  1774. 

"The  Congress  met  according  to  adjournment. 

"Upon  motion, 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  Congress  request  the 
merchants  and  others  in  the  several  Colonies  not  to  send  to 
Great  Britain  any  orders  for  goods,  and  to  direct  the  execu 
tion  of  all  orders  already  sent,  to  be  delayed  or  suspended, 
until  the  sense  of  the  Congress  on  the  means  to  be  taken  for 
the  preservation  of  the  liberties  of  America  is  made  public. 

"Ordered,  That  this  resolution  be  made  public  by  hand 
bills,  and  by  publishing  it  in  the  newspapers. 

"  The  committee  appointed  to  state  the  rights  of  the  Colo 
nies,  etc.,  having  brought  in  a  report  of  the  rights,  the  same 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  75 

was  read,  and  the  consideration  of  it  deferred  till  Saturday 
next. 

"Ordered,  That  a  copy  of  this  report  be  made  for  each 
Colony. 

"  Saturday,  Sept.  24,  1774,  A.M. 

"The  Congress  entered  upon  the  consideration  of  the  re 
port  referred  to  this  day,  and,  after  some  debate,  upon  mo 
tion, 

"Resolved,  That  the  Congress  do  confine  themselves  at 
present  to  the  consideration  of  such  rights  only  as  have  been 
infringed  by  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  since  the  year 
1763,  postponing  the  further  consideration  of  the  general 
state  of  American  rights  to  a  future  day. 

"Hereupon  the  committee  appointed  to  state  the  rights, 
etc.,  brought  in  a  report  of  the  infringements  and  violations 
of  American  rights,  which  being  read,  upon  motion, 

"Resolved,  That  the  consideration  of  this  Report  be  de 
ferred  till  Monday,  and  that  the  Congress  in  the  mean  time 
deliberate  on  the  means  most  proper  to  be  pursued  for  a  res 
toration  of  our  rights. 

'  'After  some  debate  on  that  subject,  the  Congress  adjourned. 

"Monday,  Sept.  26, 1774,  A.M. 

"The  Congress  met  according  to  adjournment. 

"John  Herring,  Esq.,  a  deputy  from  Orange  County,  in 
the  Colony  of  New  York,  appeared  this  morning,  and  took 
his  seat  as  a  delegate  from  that  Colony. 

"  Tuesday,  Sept.  27,  1774,  A.M. 

"  The  Congress  met  according  to  adjournment,  and,  resum 
ing  the  consideration  of  the  means  most  proper  to  be  used 
for  a  restoration  of  American  rights, 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That,  from  and  after  the  1st  day 
of  December  next,  there  be  no  importation  into  British 
America  from  Great  Britain  or  Ireland,  of  any  goods,  wares, 
or  merchandise  whatsoever,  or,  from  any  other  place,  of  any 
such  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  as  shall  have  been  ex 
ported  from  Great  Britain  or  Ireland;  and  that  no  such 
goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  imported  after  the  said  1st  day 
of  December  next  be  used  or  purchased. 

"Adjourned  till  to-morrow. 

"  Saturday,  Oct.  1, 1774. 

"Simon  Boerum,  Esq.,  appeared  in  Congress  as  a  deputy 
from  King's  County,  in  the  Colony  of  New  York,  and  pro 
duced  the  credentials  of  his  election,  which,  being  read  and 
approved,  he  took  his  seat  as  a  delegate  for  that  Colony. 

"The  Congress,  resuming  the  consideraton  of  the  means, 
etc.,  upon  motion, 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  a  loyal  address  to  his 
Majesty  be  prepared,  dutifully  requesting  the  royal  atten- 


76  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

tiqn  to  the  grievances  that  alarm  and  distress  his  Majesty's 
faithful  subjects  in  North  America,  and  entreating  his  Ma 
jesty's  gracious  interposition  for  the  removal  of  such  griev 
ances,  thereby  to  restore  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
Colonies  that  harmony  so  necessary  to  the  happiness  of  the 
British  empire,  and  so  ardently  desired  by  all  America. 

"  Agreed,  That  Mr.  Lee,  Mr.  J.  Adams,  Mr.  Johnson,  Mr. 
Henry,  and  Mr.  J.  Rutledge  be  a  committee  to  prepare  an 
address  to  his  Majesty. 

"  Saturday,  October  8,  1774. 

"The  Congress  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  letter 
from  Boston ;  and  upon  motion, 

"Resolved,  That  this  Congress  approve  the  opposition  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  to  the  execution 
of  the  late  acts  of  Parliaments ;  and  if  the  same  shall  be  at 
tempted  to  be  carried  into  execution  by  force,  in  such  case 
all  America  ought  to  support  them  in  their  opposition. 

"Tuesday,  October  11,  1774. 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  a  memorial  be  prepared 
to  the  people  of  British  America,  stating  to  them  the  neces 
sity  of  a  firm,  united,  and  invariable  observation  of  the  meas 
ures  recommended  by  the  Congress,  as  they  tender  the  in 
valuable  rights  and  liberties  derived  to  them  from  the  laws 
and  Constitution  of  their  country. 

"Also  that  an  address  be  prepared  to  the  people  of  Great 
Britain.  Mr.  Lee,  Mr.  Livingston,  and  Mr.  Jay  are  appoint 
ed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  draft  of  the  memorial  and  ad 
dress. 

"Friday,  October  14,  1774. 

"  The  Congress.met  according  to  adjournment,  and  resum 
ing  the  consideration  of  the  subject  under  debate,  came  into 
the  foUowing  resolutions: 

"Whereas,  Since  the  close,  of  the  last  war,  the  British 
Parliament,  claiming  a  power  of  right  to  bind  the  people  of 
America  by  statute  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  hath  in  some 
acts  expressly  imposed  taxes  on  them,  and  in  others,  under 
various  pretences,  but  in  fact  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a 
revenue,  hath  imposed  rates  and  duties  payable  in  these 
Colonies,  established  a  board  of  commissioners  with  uncon 
stitutional  powers,  and  extended  the  jurisdiction  of  Courts 
of  Admirality,  not  only  for  collecting  the  said  duties,  but  for 
the  trial  of  causes  merely  arising  within  the  body  of  a 
county ; 

"And  whereas,  In  consequence  of  other  statutes,  judges 
who  before  held  only  estates  at  will  in  their  offices,  have 
been  made  dependent  on  the  Crown  alone  for  their  salaries, 
and  standing  armies  kept  in  times  of  peace;  and  it  has  late 
ly  been  resolved  in  Parliament  that  by  force  of  a  statute 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  77 

made  in  the  thirty -fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Henry 
the  Eighth,  Colonists  may  be  transported  to  England,  and 
tried  there  upon  accusations  for  treason,  and  misprisons,  or 
concealments  of  treason,  committed  in  the  Colonies,  and  by 
a  late  statute  such  trials  have  been  directed  in  cases  therein 
mentioned ; 

"And  whereas,  In  the  last  session  of  Parliament,  three 
statutes  were  made,  one  entitled  '  An  Act  to  Discontinue  in 
Such  Manner  and  for  Such  Time  as  Therein  Mentioned,  the 
Landing  and  Discharging,  Lading  or  Shipping,  of  Goods, 
Wares,  and  Merchandise  at  the  Town  and  Within  the  Harbor 
of  Boston,  in  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  North 
America ;'  another  entitled  '  An  Act  for  the  Better  Regulating 
the  Government  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in 
New  England ;'  and  another  entitled  '  An  Act  for  the  Impar 
tial  Administration  of  Justice  in  the  Cases  of  Persons  Ques 
tioned  for  any  Act  Done  by  Them  in  the  Execution  of  the  Law, 
or  for  the  Suppression  of  Riots  and  Tumults  in  the  Province 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England;'  and  another 
statute  was  then  made,  4  for  making  more  effectual  provi 
sion  for  the  government  of  the  Province  of  Quebec,'  etc. ;— all 
which  statutes  are  impolitic,  unjust,  and  cruel,  as  well  as 
unconstitutional  and  most  dangerous  and  destructive  of 
American  rights ; 

' '  And  whereas,  Assemblies  have  been  frequently  dissolved, 
contrary  to  the  rights  of  the  people,  when  they  attempted  to 
deliberate  on  grievances;  and  their  dutiful,  humble,  loyal, 
and  reasonable  petitions  to  the  Crown  for  redress  have  been 
repeatedly  treated  with  contempt  by  his  Majesty's  Ministers 
of  State : 

"  The  good  people  of  the  several  Colonies  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island,  and  Providence  Plan 
tations,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
New  Castle,  Kent  and  Sussex,  on  Delaware,  Maryland,  Vir 
ginia,  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina,  justly  alarmed  at 
these  arbitrary  proceedings  of  Parliament  and  administra 
tion,  have  severally  elected,  constituted,  and  appointed  dep 
uties  to  meet  and  sit  in  general  congress,  in  the  city  of  Phil 
adelphia,  in  order  to  obtain  such  establishment  as  that  their 
religion,  laws,  and  liberties  may  not  be  subverted.  Where 
upon,  the  deputies  so  appointed  being  now  so  assembled  in 
a  full  and  free  representation  of  these  Colonies,  taking  into 
their  most  serious  consideration  the  best  means  of  attaining 
the  end  aforesaid,  do,  in  the  first  place,  as  Englishmen,  their 
ancestors,  in  like  cases  have  usually  done  for  asserting  and 
vindicating  their  rights  and  liberties,  declare, 

"That  the  inhabitants  of  the  English  Colonies  in  North 
America,  by  the  immutable  laws  of  nature,  the  principles 
of  the  English  Constitution,  and  the  several  charters  or  com 
pacts,  have  the  following  rights: 


78  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"Resolved,  N.  C.  D.  1,  That  they  are  entitled  to  life,  lib 
erty,  and  property ;  and  they  have  never  ceded  to  any  sov 
ereign  power  whatsoever,  a  right  to  dispose  of  either  with 
or  without  their  consent. 

"Resolved,  N.  C.  D.  2,  That  our  ancestors  who  first  set 
tled  these  Colonies,  were,  at  the  time  of  their  emigration 
from  the  mother-country,  entitled  to  all  the  rights,  liberties, 
and  immunities  of  free  and  natural  born  subjects  within 
the  realm  of  England. 

"Resolved,  N.  C.  D.  3,  That,  by  such  emigration,  they  by 
no  means  forfeited,  surrendered,  or  lost  any  of  those  rights, 
but  that  they  were,  and  their  descendants  now  are,  entitled 
to  the  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  all  such  of  them  as  their 
local  and  other  circumstances  enable  them  to  exercise  and 
enjoy. 

"Resolved,  4,  That  the  formation  of  English  liberty,  and 
of  all  free  government,  is  aright  in  the  people  to  participate 
in  their  legislative  Council;  and  as  the  English  Colonists 
are  not  represented,  and  from  their  local  and  other  circum 
stances  cannot  be  properly  represented,  in  the  British  Par 
liament,  they  are  entitled  to  a  free  and  exclusive  power  of 
legislation  in  their  several  Provincial  legislatures,  where 
their  right  of  representation  can  alone  be  preserved  in  all 
cases  of  taxation  and  internal  polity,  subject  only  to  the 
negation  of  their  sovereign,  in  such  manner  as  has  been 
heretofore  used  and  accustomed. 

44  But  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  a  regard  for  the 
mutual  interests  of  both  countries,  we  cheerfully  consent  to 
the  operation  of  such  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  as  are 
bona  fide  restrained  to  the  regulation  of  our  external  com 
merce  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  commercial  advan 
tages  of  the  whole  empire  to  the  mother-country,  and  the 
commercial  benefit  of  its  respective  members,  excluding 
every  idea  of  taxation,  internal  or  external,  for  raising  a 
revenue  on  the  subjects  in  America  without  their  consent. 

4 '  Resolved,  N.  C-  D.  5,  That  the  respective  Colonies  are 
entitled  to  the  common  law  of  England,  and  more  especially 
to  the  great  and  inestimable  privilege  of  being  tried  by  their 
peers  of  the  vicinage  according  to  the  course  of  that  law. 

"Resolved  6,  That  they  are  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  such 
of  the  English  statutes  as  existed  at  the  time  of  their  coloni 
zation,  and  which  they  have  by  experience  respectively 
found  to  be  applicable  to  their  several  local  and  other  cir 
cumstances. 

"Resolved,  N.  C.  D.  7,  That  these,  his  Majesty's  C9lonies, 
are  likewise  entitled  to  all  the  immunities  and  privileges 
granted  and  confirmed  to  them  by  royal  charters,  or  secured 
by  their  several  codes  of  Provincial  laws. 

"  Resolved,  N.  C.  D.  8,  That  they  have  a  right  peacefully 
to  assemble,  consider  of  their  grievances,  and  petition  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  79 

King;  and  that  all  prosecutions,  prohibitory  proclamations, 
and  commitments  for  the  same  are  illegal. 

"Resolved,  N.  C.  D.  9,  That  the  keeping  a  standing  army 
in  these  Colonies  in  times  of  peace,  without  the  consent  of 
the  legislatures  of  that  Colony  in  which  such  army  is  kept, 
is  against  law. 

"Resolved,  N.  C.  D.  10,  It  is  indispensably  necessary  to 
good  government,  and  rendered  essential  by  the  English 
Constitution,  that  the  constituent  branches  of  the  legislature 
be  independent  of  each  other ;  that  Jherefore  the  exercise  of 
legislative  power  in  several  Colonies,  by  a  Council  appoint 
ed  during  pleasure  of  the  Crown,  is  unconstitutional,  dan 
gerous,  and  destructive  to  the  freedom  of  American  leg 
islation. 

"All  and  each  of  which  the  aforesaid  deputies,  in  behalf  of 
themselves  and  their  constituents,  do  claim,  demand,  and 
insist  on  as  their  indubitable  rights  and  liberties,  which  can 
not  be  legally  taken  from  them,  altered  or  abridged,  by  any 
power  whatever,  without  their  own  consent,  by  their  repre 
sentatives  in  their  several  Provincial  legislatures. 

"In  the  course  of  our  inquiry,  we  find  many  infringe 
ments  and  violations  of  the  foregoing  rights,  which,  from 
an  ardent  desire  that  harmony  and  mutual  intercourse  of 
affection  and  interest  may  be  restored,  or  passed  over  for 
the  present,  and  proceed  to  state  such  acts  and  measures  as 
have  been  adopted  since  the  last  was,  which  demonstrate  a 
system  formed  to  enslave  America. 

"Resolved,  N.  C.  D.,  That  the  following  acts  of  Parliament 
are  infringements  and  violations  of  the  rights  of  the  Colo 
nists,  and  that  the  repeal  of  them  is  essentially  necessary  in 
order  to  restore  harmony  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
American  Colonies,  viz. : 

"The  several  Acts  of  4  George  III.,  chapters  15  and  34;  5 
George  III.,  chapter  25;  6  George  III.,  chapter  52;  7  George 
III.,  chapters  41  and  46;  8  George  III.,  chapter  22,— which 
impose  duties  for  raising  a  revenue  in  America,  extend  the 
powers  of  the  Admiralty  Courts  beyond  their  ancient  limits, 
deprive  the  American  subject  of  trial  by  jury,  authorize  the 
judge's  certificate  to  indemnify  the  prosecutor  from  damage 
that  he  might  otherwise  be  liable  to,  requiring  oppressive 
security  from  a  claimant  of  ships  and  goods  seized  before 
he  shall  be  allowed  to  defend  his  property,  and  are  subver 
sive  of  American  rights. 

"Also  the  12  George  III.,  chapter  24,  entitled  '  An  Act  for 
the  Better  Securing  His  Majesty's  Dock-Yards,  Magazines, 
Ships,  Ammunition  and  Stores,'  which  declares  a  new  of 
fence  in  America  and  deprives  the  American  subject  of  a 
constitutional  trial  by  jury  of  the  vicinage,  by  authorizing  the 
trial  of  any  person,  charged  with  the  committing  any  offence 
described  in  the  said  act  out  of  the  realm,  to  be  indicted 


80  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

and  tried  for  the  same  in  any  shire  or  county  within  the 
realm.  Also  the  three  acts  passed  in  the  last  session  of  Par 
liament  for  stopping  the  port  and  blocking  up  the  harbor  of 
Boston;  for  altering  the  charter  and  government  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay;  and  that  which  is  entitled,  '  An  Act  for 
the  Better  Administration  of  Justice,'  etc. 

"  '  Also  the  act  passed  in  the  same  session  for  establishing 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  in  the  Province  of  Quebec, 
abolishing  the  equitable  system  of  English  laws,  and  erect 
ing  a  tyranny  there  to  the  great  danger,  from  so  total  a  dis 
similarity  of  religion,  law,  and  government  of  the  neighbor 
ing  British  Colonies,  by  the  assistance  of  whose  blood  and 
treasure  the  said  country  was  conquered  from  France. 

"  '  Also  the  act  passed  in  the  same  session  for  the  better 
providing  suitable  quarters  for  officers  and  soldiers  in  his 
Majesty's  service  in  North  America. 

"'Also  that  the  keeping  a  standing  army  in  several  of 
these  Colonies,  in  time  of  peace  without  the  consent  of  the 
legislature  of  that  Colony  in  which  such  army  is  kept,  is 
against  law. 

u  '  To  these  grievous  acts  and  measures  Americans  cannot 
submit;  but  in  hopes  that  their  fellow-subjects  in  Great  Brit 
ain  will,  on  a  revision  of  them,  restore  us  to  that  state  in 
which  both  countries  found  happiness  and  prosperity,  we 
have  for  the  present  only  resolved  to  pursue  the  following 
peaceable  measures: 

"  '  1.  To  enter  into  a  non-importation,  non-consumption,  and 
non-exportation  agreement  or  association;  2,  to  prepare 
an  address  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain  and  a  memorial  to 
the  inhabitants  of  British  America;  and  3,  to  prepare  a 
loyal  address  to  his  Majesty,  agreeable  to  resolutions  already 
entered  into.' 

"  A  letter  being  received  from  several  gentlemen  in  Geor 
gia  was  read. 

"Monday,  October  17,  1774. 

"  The  Congress  met  according  to  adjournment. 

*  '  Mr.  John  Dickinson  appeared  in  Congress  as  a  deputy  for 
the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  and  produced  his  credentials. 


"  Tuesday,  October  18,  1774. 

"  The  Congress  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  plan  of 
Association,  etc.  ;  and  after  sundry  amendments,  the  same 
was  agreed  to  and  ordered  to  be  transcribed,  that  it  may  be 
signed  by  the  several  members. 

"  Thursday,  October  20,  1774. 

"  The  Association  being  copied  ,  was  read  and  signed  at  the 
table,  and  is  as  follows: 

"  'We,  his  Majesty's  most  loyal  subjects,  the  delegates  of 
the  several  Colonies  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  'REPUBLIC.  81 

Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Penn 
sylvania,  the  three  lower  counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and 
Sussex  on  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
and  South  Carolina,  deputed  to  represent  them  in  a  Conti 
nental  Congress,  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  on  the 
fifth  day  of  September,  1774,  avowing  our  allegiance  to  his 
Majesty ;  our  affection  and  regard  for  our  fellow-subjects  in 
Great  Britain  and  elsewhere ;  affected  with  the  deepest  anx 
iety  and  most  alarming  apprehensions  at  those  grievances 
and  distresses  with  which  his  Majesty's  American  subjects 
are  oppressed ;  and  having  taken  under  our  most  serious  de 
liberation  the  State  of  the  whole  Continent, —find  that  the 
present  unhappy  situation  of  our  affairs  is  occasioned  by  a 
ruinous  system  of  Colony  administration  adopted  by  the 
British  Ministry  about  the  year  1763,  evidently  calculated 
for  enslaving  these  Colonies,  and  with  them  the  British  em 
pire.  In  the  prosecution  of  which  system,  various  acts  of 
Parliament  have  been  passed  for  raising  a  revenue  in  Amer 
ica,  for  depriving  the  American  subjects,  in  many  instances, 
of  the  constitutional  trial  by  jury,  exposing  their  lives  to 
danger  by  directing  a  new  and  illegal  trial  beyond  the  seas, 
for  crimes  alleged  to  have  been  committed  in  America ;  and 
in  prosecution  of  the  same  system,  several  late  cruel  and 
oppressive  acts  have  been  passed  respecting  the  town  of 
Boston  and  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  also  an  act  for  ex 
tending  the  Province  of  Quebec  so  as  to  border  on  the  west 
ern  frontiers  of  these  Colonies,  establishing  an  arbitrary 
government  therein,  and  discouraging  the  settlement  of 
British  subjects  in  that  wide-extended  country ;  thus  by  the 
influence  of  evil  principles  and  ancient  prejudices  to  dispose 
the  inhabitants  to  act  with  hostility  against  the  free  Protest 
ant  Colonies  whenever  a  wicked  Ministry  shall  choose  so  to 
direct. 

u  '  To  obtain  redress  of  grievances  which  threaten  destruc 
tion  to  the  lives,  liberties,  and  property  of  his  Majesty's  sub 
jects  in  North  America,  we  are  of  opinion  that  a  non-im 
portation,  non-consumption,  and  non-exportation  agreement 
faithfully  adhered  to  will  prove  the  most  speedy,  effectual, 
and  peaceable  measure ;  and  therefore  we  do  for  ourselves, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  Colonies,  whom  we  rep 
resent,  firmly  agree  and  associate  under  the  sacred  ties  of 
virtue,  honor,  and  love  of  our  country  as  follows : 

'*  *  1.  That  from  and  after  the  1st  day  of  December  next  we 
will  not  import  into  British  America  from  Great  Britain  or 
Ireland  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  whatsoever,  or 
from  any  other  place  any  such  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise 
as  shall  have  been  exported  from  Great  Britain  or  Ireland ; 
nor  will  we  after  that  day  import  any  East  India  tea  from 
any  part  of  the  world;  nor  any  molasses,  syrups,  paneles, 
coffee,  or  pimento  from  the  British  plantations  or  from  Do- 


82  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

minico;  nor  wines  from  Madeira  or  the  Western  Islands; 
nor  foreign  indigo. 

"  '2.  That  we  will  neither  import  nor  purchase  any  slave 
imported  after  the  first  day  of  December  next ;  after  which 
time  we  will  wholly  discontinue  the  slave  trade,  and  will 
neither  be  concerned  in  it  ourselves,  nor  will  we  hire  our 
vessels  nor  sell  our  commodities  or  manufactures  to  those 
who  are  concerned  in  it. 

"  '  3.  As  a  non-consumption  agreement  strictly  adhered  to 
will  be  an  effectual  security  for  the  observation  of  the  non 
importation,  we  as  above  solemnly  agree  and  associate  that 
from  this  day  we  will  not  purchase  or  use  any  tea  imported 
on  account  of  the  East  India  Company,  or  any  on  which  a 
duty  hath  been  or  shall  be  paid ;  and  from  and  after  the  1st 
day  of  March  next  we  will  not  purchase  or  use  any  East  In 
dia  tea  whatsoever;  nor  will  we  nor  shall  any  person  for  or 
under  us  purchase  or  use  any  of  those  gooods,  wares,  or 
merchandise  we  have  agreed  not  to  import,  which  we  shall 
know  or  have  cause  to  suspect  were  imported  after  the  first 
day  of  December,  except  such  as  come  under  the  rules  and 
directions  of  the  tenth  article  hereafter  mentioned. 

"  44.  The  earnest  desire  we  have,  not  to  injure  our  fellow- 
subjects  in  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  or  the  West  Indies,  in 
duces  us  to  suspend  a  non -exportation  until  the  tenth  day 
of  September,  1775 ;  at  which  time,  if  the  said  acts  and  parts 
of  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  hereinafter  mentioned 
are  not  repealed,  we  will  not  directly  or  indirectly  export 
any  merchandise  or  commodity  whatsoever  to  Great  Brit 
ain,  Ireland,  or  the  West  Indies,  except  rice  to  Europe. 

'"5.  Such  as  are  merchants  and  use  the  British  and  Irish 
trade,  will  give  orders  as  soon  as  possible  to  their  factors, 
agents,  and  correspondents  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
not  to  ship  any  goods  to  them  on  any  pretence  whatsoever, 
as  they  cannot  be  received  in  America ;  and  if  any  merchant 
residing  in  Great  Britain  or  Ireland  shall  directly  or  indi 
rectly  ship  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  for  America 
in  order  to  break  the  said  non-importation  agreement,  or  in 
any  manner  contravene  the  same,  on  such  unworthy  conduct 
being  well  attested,  it  ought  to  be  made  public ;  and  on  the 
same  being  so  done,  we  will  not  from  thenceforth  have  any 
commercial  connection  with  such  merchant. 

"  *  6.  That  such  as  are  owners  of  vessels  will  give  positive 
orders  to  their  captains  or  masters  not  to  receive  on  board 
their  vessels  any  goods  prohibited  by  the  said  non-importa 
tion  agreement,  on  pain  of  immediate  dismission  from  their 
service. 

"  '  7.  We  will  use  pur  utmost  endeavors  to  improve  the 
breed  of  sheep,  and  increase  their  number  to  the  greatest 
extent ;  and  to  that  end  we  will  kill  them  as  sparingly  as 
may  be,  especially  those  of  the  most  profitable  kind;  nor 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  83 

will  we  export  any  to  the  West  Indies  or  elsewhere ;  and 
those  of  us  who  are  or  may  become  overstocked  with  or  can 
conveniently  spare  any  sheep  will  dispose  of  them  to  our 
neighbors,  especially  to  the  poorer  sort,  upon  moderate  terms. 

u  *  8.  That  we  will,  in  our  several  stations,  encourage  frugali 
ty,  economy,  and  industry,  and  promote  agriculture,  arts, 
and  the  manufactures  of  this  country,  especially  that  of 
wool ;  and  will  discountenance  and  discourage  every  species 
of  extravagance  and  dissipation,  especially  of  horse-rac\ng 
and  all  kinds  of  gaming,  cock-fighting,  exhibitions  of  plays, 
shows,  and  other  expensive  diversions  and  entertainments ; 
and  on  the  death  of  any  relation  or  friend,  none  of  us,  nor 
any  of  our  families,  will  go  into  any  further  mourning-dress 
than  a  black  crape  or  ribbon  on  the  arm  or  hat  for  gentle 
men,  and  a  black  ribbon  or  necklace  for  ladies,  and  we  will 
discontinue  the  giving  of  gloves  and  scarfs  at  funerals.' " 

"  '11.  That  a  committee  be  chosen  in  every  county,  city,  and 
town,  by  those  who  are  qualified  to  vote  for  Representatives 
in  the  Legislature,  whose  business  it  shall  be  to  attentively 
observe  the  conduct  of  all  persons  touching  this  Association ; 
and  when  it  shall  be  made  to  appear  to  the  satisfaction  of  a 
majority  of  any  such  committee  that  any  person  within  the 
limits  of  their  appointment  has  violated  this  Association, 
that  such  majority  do  forthwith  cause  the  truth  of  the  case 
to  be  published  in  the  Gazette,  to  the  end  that  all  such  foes 
to  the  rights  of  British  America  may  be  publicly  known  and 
universally  condemned  as  the  enemies  of  American  liber 
ty,  and  thenceforth  we  respectively  will  break  off  all  deal 
ings  with  him  or  her.' " 

"  '  14.  And  we  do  further  agree  and  resolve,  That  we  will 
have  no  trade,  commerce,  dealings,  or  intercourse  whatsoever 
with  any  Colony  or  province  in  North  America  which  shall 
not  accede  to  or  shall  hereafter  violate  this  Association,  but 
will  hold  them  as  unworthy  of  the  rights  of  freemen,  and  as 
inimical  to  the  liberties  of  this  country.  And  we  do  solemnly 
bind  ourselves  and  our  constituents,  under  the  ties  aforesaid, 
to  adhere  to  this  Association  until  such  parts  of  the  several 
acts  of  Parliament  passed  since  the  close  of  the  last  war,  or 
impose  or  continue  duties  on  tea,  wine,  molasses,  syrups, 
paneles,  coffee,  sugar,  pimento,  indigo,  foreign  paper,  glass, 
and  painters'  colors  imported  into  America ;  and  extend  the 
powers  of  the  Admiralty  Courts  beyond  their  ancient  limits ; 
deprive  the  American  subjects  of  trial  by  jury ;  authorize  the 
judge's  certificate  to  indemnify  the  prosecutor  from  damages 
that  he  might  otherwise  be  liable  to  from  a  trial  by  his  peers ; 
require  oppressive  security  from  a  claimant  of  ships  or  goods 
seized  before  he  shall  be  allowed  to  defend  his  property,— are 
repealed.  And  until  that  part  of  the  act  of  the  12th  George 
III.,  ch.  24,  entitled  "  An  Act  for  the  Better  Securing  His 
Majesty's  Pock-yards,  Magazines,  Ships,  Ammunition,  and 


84  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Stores,"  by  which  any  person  charged  with  committing  any 
offences  therein  described,  in  America,  may  be  tried  in  any 
shire  or  county  within  the  realm,  is  repealed.  And  until  the 
four  acts  passed  in  the  last  session  of  Parliament  —  viz.  :  that 
for  stopping  the  port  and  blocking  up  the  Harbor  of  Boston  ; 
that  for  altering  the  charter  and  government  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  Bay;  and  that  which  is  entitled,  "  An  Act  for  the 
Better  Administration  of  Justice,  etc.  ;  and  that  for  extend 
ing  the  limits  of  Quebec,  etc.  "  —  are  repealed.  And  we  recom 
mend  it  to  the  provincial  conventions,  and  to  the  committees 
in  the  respective  Colonies,  to  establish  such  further  regula 
tions  as  they  may  think  proper  for  carrying  into  execution 
this  Association.' 

"  The  foregoing  Association  being  determined  upon  by  the 
Congress,  was  ordered  to  be  subscribed  by  the  several  mem 
bers  thereof  ;  and  thereupon  we  have  hereunto  set  our  respec 
tive  names  accordingly." 

"  In  Congress,  Philadelphia,  Oct.  20,  1774. 

"  PEYTON  RANDOLPH,  President. 
"New  Hampshire  ____  John  Sullivan,  Nathaniel  Folsom. 

Massachusetts  Bay.  j  ^iSSTMSt  ££? 
Rhode  Island  .........  Stephen  Hopkins,  Samuel  Ward. 

Connecticut  ........  j  Eliphalet  Dyer,  Roger  Sherman,  Silas 

{Isaac    Low,   John  Alsop,   John  Jay, 
James    Duane,    Philip  Livingston, 
William    Floyd,    Henry     Wisner, 
Simon  Boerum. 

C  James   Kinsey,   William  Livingston, 
New  Jersey  ........  <     Stephen  Crane,  Richard  Smith,  John 

(     De  Hart. 

f  Joseph    Galloway,    John    Dickinson, 

J      Charles  Humphreys,   Thomas  Mif- 
j     fli^  Edward  Biddle?  John  Mortori) 

[     George  Ross. 
The  Lower  Counties,  {  Caesar    Rodney,    Thomas     McKean, 
New  Castle,  etc  .....  (     George  Read. 

5  Matthew  Tilghman,  Thomas  Johnson, 
•  I     Jr.,  William  Paca,  Samuel  Chase. 

f  Richard  Henry  Lee,  George  Washing- 
T7-     •   -Q  J      ton,    Patrick   Henry,  Jr.,   Richard 

Virginia  ...........  j      Bland  Benj-amin  Harrison,  Edmund 

Pendleton. 


North  Carolina 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  85 

C  Henry    Middleton,    Thomas    Lynch, 

South  Carolina <     Christopher  Gadsden,    John    Eut- 

(     ledge,  Edward  Eutledge. 

"  Ordered,  That  this  Association  be  committed  to  the  press 
and  that  one  hundred  and  twenty  copies  be  struck  off. 

"  The  Congress  then  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  ad 
dress  to  the  inhabitants  of  these  Colonies,  and  after  debate 
thereon,  adjourned  until  to-morrow." 

THE  ADDRESS  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

This  address  is  elaborate  and  able.  But  the  plan  of  this 
compilation  will  only  admit  of  the  following  paragraphs. 
The  committee  appointed  to  draft  it,  as  has  been  seen  above, 
was  composed  of  Eichard  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  John  Jay 
and  Philip  Livingston,  of  New  York: 

"  Tuesday,  Oct.  21,  1774. 

* '  The  Address  to  the  People  of  Great  Britain  being  brought 
in,  and  the  amendments  directed  being  made,  the  same  was 
approved  and  is  as  follows : 

"To  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  from  the  delegates  ap 
pointed  by  the  several  English  Colonies  of  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts  Bay,  Ehode  Island  and  Providence  Planta 
tion,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania 
the  lower  counties  on  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  and  South  Carolina,  to  consider  their  grievances 
in  General  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  September  5, 1774. 

^Friends  and  Fellow-subjects:  When  a  nation,  led  to 
greatness  by  the  hand  of  liberty,  and  possessed  of  all  the 
glory  that  heroism,  magnificence,  and  humanity  can  bestow, 
descends  to  the  ungrateful  task  of  forging  chains  for  her 
friends  and  children,  and  instead  of  giving  support  to  free 
dom,  turns  advocate  for  slavery  and  oppression,  there  is 
reason  to  suspect  she  has  either  ceased  to  be  virtuous  or 
been  extremely  negligent  in  the  appointment  of  her  rulers. 

"In  almost  every  age,  in  repeated  conflicts,  in  long  and 
bloody  wars,  as  well  civil  as  foreign,  against  many  and  pow 
erful  nations,  against  the  open  assaults  of  enemies  and  the 
more  dangerous  treachery  of  friends,  have  the  inhabitants 
of  your  island,  your  great  and  glorious  ancestors,  maintained 
their  independence,  and  transmitted  the  rights  of  men  and 
the  blessings  of  liberty  to  you,  their  posterity. 

"  Be  not  surprised,  therefore,  that  we,  who  are  descended 
from  the  same  common  ancestors;  that  we,  whose  fore 
fathers  participated  in  all  the  rights,  the  liberties,  and  the 
constitution  you  so  justly  boast  of,  and  who  have  carefully 
conveyed  the  same  fair  inheritance  to  us,  guaranteed  by  the 
plighted  faith  of  government,  and  the  most  solemn  compacts 
with  British  sovereigns,— should  refuse  to  surrender  them  to 
men  who  found  their  claims  on  no  principles  of  reason,  and 


86  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

who  prosecute  them  with  a  design  that,  by  having  our  lives 
and  property  in  their  power,  they  may  with  the  greater 
facility  enslave  you. 

"  The  cause  of  America  is  now  the  object  of  universal  at 
tention;  it  has  at  length  become  very  serious. 

"  This  unhappy  country  has  not  only  been  oppressed,  but 
abused  and  misrepresented ;  and  the  duty  we  owe  to  our 
selves  and  posterity,  to  your  interest  and  the  general  welfare 
of  the  British  Empire,  leads  us  to  address  you  on  this  very 
important  subject. 

"  Know  then,  that  we  consider  ourselves,  and  do  insist,  that 
we  are  and  ought  to  be  as  free  as  our  fellow-subjects  in 
Britain,  and  that  no  power  on  earth  has  a  right  to  take  our 
property  from  us  without  our  consent. 

"That  we  claim  all  the  benefits  secured  to  the  subjects  by 
the  English  constitution  and  particularly  that  inestimable 
right  of  trial  by  jury. 

1  k  That  we  hold  it  essential  to  English  liberty,  that  no  man 
be  condemned  unheard,  or  punished  for  supposed  offences 
without  having  an  opportunity  of  making  his  defence. 

"  That  we  think  the  legislature  of  Great  Britain  is  not  au 
thorized  by  the  constitution  to  establish  a  religion  fraught 
with  sanguinary  and  impious  tenets,  or  to  erect  an  arbitrary 
form  of  government  in  any  quarter  of  the  globe.  These 
rights,  we,  as  well  as  you,  deem  sacred  and  yet,  sacred  as 
they  are,  they  have,  with  many  others,  been  repeatedly  and 
flagrantly  violated. 

k  k  Are  not  the  proprietors  of  the  soil  of  Great  Britain  lords 
of  their  own  property  ?  Can  it  be  taken  from  them  without 
their  consent?  Will  they  yield  it  to  the  arbitrary  disposal 
of  any  man,  or  number  of  men  whatever?  You  know  they 
will  not. 

"Why,  then,  are  the  proprietors  of  the  soil  of  America 
less  lords  of  their  property  than  you  are  of  yours?  Or  why 
should  they  submit  it  to  the  disposal  of  your  Parliament,  or 
any  other  parliament  or  council  in  the  world,  not  of  their 
election?  Can  the  intervention  of  the  sea  that  divides  us 
cause  disparity  in  rights?  Or  can  any  reason  be  given  why 
English  subjects  who  live  three  thousand  miles  from  the 
royal  palace  should  enjoy  less  liberty  than  those  who  are 
three  hundred  miles  distant  from  it? 

"  Reason  looks  with  indignation  on  such  distinctions,  and 
freemen  can  never  perceive  their  propriety.  A.nd  yet,  how 
ever  chimerical  and  unjust  such  discriminations  are,  the 
Parliament  assert  that  they  have  a  right  to  bind  us  in  all 
cases  without  exception,  whether  we  consent  or  not ;  that 
they  may  take  and  use  our  property  when  and  in  what 
manner  they  please;  that  we  are  pensioners  on  their  bounty 
for  all  that  we  possess,  and  can  hold  it  no  longer  than  they 
vouchsafe  to  permit.  Such  declarations  we  consider  as 
heresies  in  English  politics,  and  which  can  no  more  operate 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  87 

to  deprive  us  of  our  property  than  the  interdicts  of  the  pope 
can  divest  kings  of  sceptres  which  the  laws  of  the  land  and 
the  voice  of  the  people  have  placed  in  their  hands." 

On  the  same  day  the  Congress  published  a  memorial  to 
the  inhabitants  of  British  America,  reported  by  the  same 
committee. 

It  is  a  clear  and  statesmanlike  resume  of  the  irritating 
legislation  and  policy  of  Great  Britain  from  the  close  of  the 
then  late  war  with  France  to  date. 

The  following  paragraph  will  remind  the  reader  of  the 
first  clause  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence: 

' '  In  every  case  of  opposition  by  a  people  to  their  rulers, 
or  of  one  state  to  another,  duty  to  Almighty  God — the  creator 
of  all— requires  that  a  true  and  impartial  judgment  be  formed 
of  the  measures  leading  to  such  opposition,  and  of  the  causes 
by  which  it  has  been  provoked,  or  can  in  any  degree  be  justi 
fied  ;  that  neither  affection  on  the  one  hand  nor  resentment 
on  the  other  being  permitted  to  give  a  wrong  bias  to  reason, 
it  may  be  enabled  to  take  a  dispassionate  view  of  all  circum 
stances,  and  to  settle  the  public  conduct  on  the  solid  founda 
tions  of  Wisdom  and  Justice." 

From  councils  thus  tempered,  arise  the  surest  hopes  of  the 
divine  favor,  the  firmest  encouragement  to  the  parties  en 
gaged,  and  the  strongest  recommendation  of  their  cause  to 
the  rest  of  mankind. 

The  Congress  also  put  forth  addresses  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  and  to  the  King.  The  former  ap 
peals  to  the  people  of  that  Province  to  unite  with  those 
south  of  it  in  opposition  to  Parliamentary  taxation.  The 
latter  is  a  manly  but  respectful  petition  and  remonstrance. 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  1775 


The  Congress  of  1775  met  at  Philadelphia,  May  10th.  All 
the  Colonies,  except  Rhode  Island  and  Georgia,  were  repre 
sented  ;  and  after  the  body  had  been  in  session  for  a  few  days, 
delegates  arrived  from  Rhode  Island,  and  from  St.  John's 
Parish,  Georgia. 

On  the  6th  of  July,— 

"A  Declaration  by  the  Representatives  of  the  United  Col 
onies  of  North  America,  now  met  in  Congress  at  Philadel 
phia,  setting  forth  the  causes  and  necessity  of  their  taking 
up  arms,  was  issued." 

The  committee  appointed  to  draw  up  this  address  con 
sisted  of  Messrs.  J.  Rutledge,  of  South  Carolina;  W.  Liv 
ingston,  of  New  Jersey;  Dr.  Benj.  Franklin,  of  Pennsyl 
vania;  John  Jay,  of  New  York;  and  Herman  Johnson,  of 
Maryland ;— to  which  was  afterwards  added  J.  Dickinson, 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  of  Virginia. 


88  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

The  following  are  extracts: 

"If  it  was  possible  for  men  who  exercise  their  reason,  to 
believe  that  the  Divine  Author  of  our  existence  intended  a 
part  of  the  human  race  to  hold  an  absolute  property  in  and 
an  unbounded  power  over  others  marked  but,  by  His  infinite 
goodness  and  wisdom,  as  the  objects  of  a  legal  dominion 
never  rightfully  resistible,  however  severe  and  oppressive, 
the  inhabitants  of  these  Colonies  might  at  least  require  from 
the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  some  evidence  that  this 
dreadful  authority  over  them  has  been  granted  to  that  body. 
But  a  reverence  for  our  great  Creator,  principles" of  hu 
manity,  and  the  dictates  of  common  sense,  must  convince  all 
those,  who  reflect  upon  the  subject,  that  government  was 
instituted  to  promote  the  welfare  of  mankind,  and  ought  to 
be  administered  for  the  attainment  of  that  end.  The  legis 
lature  of  Great  Britain,  however,  stimulated  by  an  inordi 
nate  passion  for  a  power  not  only  unjustifiable,  but  which 
they  know  to  be  peculiarly  reprobated  by  the  very  constitu 
tion  of  that  kingdom,  and  desperate  of  success  in  any  mode 
of  contest  where  regard  should  be  had  to  truth,  law,  or 
right,  have  at  length,  deserting  those,  attempted  to  effect 
their  cruel  and  impolitic  purpose  of  enslaving  these  Colo 
nies  by  violence,  and  have  thereby  rendered  it  necessary  for 
us  to  close  with  their  last  appeal  from  reason  to  arms. 

''Yet,  however  blinded  that  assembly  may  be  by  their  in 
temperate  rage  for  unlimited  domination,  so  to  slight  justice 
and  the  opinion  of  mankind,  we  esteem  ourselves  bound  by 
obligations  of  respect  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  to  make 
known  the  justice  of  our  cause. 

"But  why  should  we  enumerate  our  injuries  in  detail  ? 
By  one  statute  it  is  declared  that  Parliament  can  '  of  right, 
make  laws  to  bind  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever.'  What  is  to 
defend  us  against  so  enormous,  so  unlimited,  a  power?  Not 
a  single  man  of  those  who  assume,  it  is  chosen  by  us,  or  is 
subject  to  our  control  or  influence ;  but  on  the  contrary,  they 
are  all  of  them  exempt  from  the  operation  of  such  laws  and 
an  American  revenue,  if  not  diverted  from  the  ostensible  pur 
poses  for  which  it  is  raised,  would  actually  lighten  their  own 
burdens  in  proportion  as  they  increase  ours.  We  saw  the 
misery  to  which  such  despotism  would  reduce  us.  We  for 
ten  years  incessantly  and  ineffectually  besieged  the  throne 
as  supplicants;  we  reasoned,  we  remonstrated,  with  Parlia 
ment  in  the  most  mild  and  decent  language." 

After  enumerating  the  several  acts  of  aggression  upon 
Colonial  rights,  and  especially  the  actual  war  upon  Massa 
chusetts,  the  Declaration  concludes,  as  follows: 

"We  are  reduced  to  the  alternation  of  choosing  an  uncon 
ditional  submission  to  the  tyranny  of  irritated  Ministers  or 
resistance  by  force.  The  latter  is  our  choice. 

"We  have  counted  the  cost  of  this  contest,  and  find  noth- 


THE  BIRTU  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  89 

ing  so  dreadful  as  voluntary  slavery.  Honor,  justice,  and 
humanity  forbid  us  tamely  to  surrender  that  freedom  which 
we  received  from  our  gallant  ancestors,  and  which  our  inno 
cent  posterity  have  a  right  to  receive  from  us.  We  cannot 
endure  the  infamy  and  guilfc  of  consigning  succeeding  genera 
tions  to  that  wretchedness  which  inevitably  awaits  them  if 
we  basely  entail  hereditary  bondage  upon  them.  Our  cause 
is  just.  Our  union  is  perfect.  Our  internal  resources  are 
great,  and,  if  necessary,  foreign  assistance  is  undoubtedly 
attainable.  We  gratefully  acknowledge,  as  signal  instances 
of  Divine  favor  towards  us,  that  His  Providence  would  not 
permit  us  to  be  called  into  this  severe  controversy  until  we 
were  grown  up  to  our  present  strength,  had  been  previously 
exercised  in  warlike  operations,  and  possessed  of  the  means 
of  defending  ourselves. 

"With  hearts  fortified  by  these  animating  reflections,  we 
most  solemnly,  before  God  and  the  world,  declare  that,  ex 
erting  the  utmost  energy  of  those  powers  which  our  benefi- 
cient  Creator  hath  graciously  bestowed  upon  us,  the  arms 
we  have  been  compelled  by  our  enemies  to  assume,  we  will, 
in  defiance  of  every  hazard,  with  unabating  firmness  and 
perseverance,  employ  for  the  preservation  of  our  liberties, 
being  with  one  mind  resolved  to  die  freemen  rather  than 
live  slaves. 

"Lest  this  declaration  should  disquiet  the  minds  of  our 
friends  and  fellow-subjects  in  any  part  of  the  empire,  we 
assure  them  that  we  mean  not  to  dissolve  that  union  which 
has  so  long  and  so  happily  subsisted  between  us,  and  which 
we  sincerely  wish  to  be  restored. 

"Necessity  has  not  yet  driven  us  into  that  desperate  meas 
ure,  or  induced  us  to  excite  any  other  nation  to  war  against 
them. 

"We  have  not  raised  armies  with  ambitious  designs  of 
separating  from  Great  Britain  and  establishing  independent 
states.  We  fight  not  for  glory  or  for  conquest.  We  exhibit 
to  mankind  the  remarkable  spectacle  of  a  people  attacked 
by  unprovoked  enemies  without  any  imputation  or  even 
suspicion  of  offence. 

"They  boast  of  their  privileges  and  civilization,  and  yet 
proffer  no  milder  conditions  than  servitude  or  death. 

"In  our  own  native  land,  in  defence  of  the  freedom  that  is 
our  birthright,  and  which  we  ever  enjoyed  until  the  late  viola 
tion  of  it,  for  the  protection  of  our  property,  acquired  solely 
by  the  honest  industry  of  our  forefathers  and  ourselves, 
against  violence  actually  offered,  we  h  ave  taken  up  arms.  We 
shall  lay  them  down  when  hostilities  shall  cease  on  the  part 
of  the  aggressors,  and  all  danger  of  their  being  renewed 
shall  be  removed,  and  not  before.  With  an  humble  confi 
dence  in  the  mercies  of  the  Supreme  and  Impartial  Judge 
and  Ruler  of  the  universe,  we  most  devoutly  implore  His 


90  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Divine  goodness  to  protect  us  happily  through  this  great  con 
flict,  to  dispose  our  adversaries  to  reconciliation  on  reason 
able  terms,  and  thereby  to  relieve  the  empire  from  the  ca 
lamities  of  civil  war." 

At  this  session  the  Congress  adopted  a  petition  to  the  King 
in  the  usual  style  of  such  papers,  complaining  of  the  meas 
ures  of  the  Ministry  and  justifying  the  defensive  measures 
of  the  Colonies.  It  is  signed  by  all  the  delegates  present, 
except  the  representation  of  the  single  parish  of  Georgia. 

On  the  same  day  Congress  adopted  an  elaborate  address 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain,  complaining  of  the  ar 
bitrary  and  unjust  policy  of  the  British  Parliament,  and  ap 
pealing  to  them  as  "friends,  countrymen,  and  brethren." 

On  the  13th  July  the  Congress  agreed  upon  a  speech  to  be 
read  in  their  name  to  the  six  nations  of  Indians ;  and  on  the 
28th  an  address  to  the  people  of  Ireland  was  adopted  in  jus 
tification  of  their  measures  of  resistance. 

After  other  proceedings  in  reference  to  defensive  measures, 
the  Congress  adjourned  August  1st  to  September  5th. 

The  Congress  met  again  September  5th,  according  to  ad 
journment.  Its  proceedings  for  the  most  part  were  of  a 
business  nature. 

The  following  spirited  paragraph  is  extracted  from  the  re 
port  of  a  committee,  adopted  by  the  body  on  the  6th  of  De 
cember  : 

"  The  Congress  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  report  of 
the  committee  on  proclamations,  which,  being  debated  by 
paragraphs,  was  agreed  to  as  follows : 

"We,  the  delegates  of  the  thirteen  united  Colonies  in 
North  America,  have  taken  into  our  most  serious  considera 
tion  a  proclamation  issued  from  the  Court  of  St.  James  on 
the  23d  day  of  August  last.  The  name  of  Majesty  is  used  to 
give  it  a  sanction  and  influence,  and  on  that  account  it  be 
comes  a  matter  of  importance  to  wipe  off  in  the  name  of  the 
people  of  these  united  Colonies  the  aspersions  which  it  is  cal 
culated  to  throw  upon  our  cause,  and  to  prevent  as  far  as 
possible  the  undeserved  punishments  which  it  is  designed  to 
prepare  for  our  friends.  We  are  accused  of  *  forgetting  the 
allegiance  which  we  owe  to  the  power  that  has  protected 
and  sustained  us.'  Why,  all  this  ambiguity  and  obscurity 
in  what  ought  to  be  so  plain  and  obvious  that  he  who  runs 
may  read  it  !  What  allegiance  is  it  that  we  forget  ?  Alle 
giance  to  Parliament  ?  We  never  owed,  we  never  owned,  it. 
Allegiance  to  our  King  ?  Our  words  have  ever  avowed  it ; 
our  conduct  has  ever  been  consistent  with  it.  We  condemn, 
and  with  arms  in  our  hands  (a  resource  which  freemen  will 
never  part  with)  we  oppose,  the  claim  and  exercise  of  uncon 
stitutional  powers,  to  which  neither  the  Crown  nor  Parlia 
ment  were  ever  entitled.  By  the  British  Constitution,  our 
best  inheritance,  rights  as  well  as  duties  descend  upon  us, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  91 

We  cannot  violate  the  latter  by  defending  the  former.  We 
should  act  in  diametrical  opposition  to  both  if  we  permitted 
the  claims  of  the  British  Parliament  to  be  established  and 
the  measures  pursued  in  consequence  of  those  claims  to  be 
carried  into  execution  among  us." 

Certain  resolutions  offered  by  Eichard  Henry  Lee,  of  Vir 
ginia,  June  7,  1776: 

"  Resolved,  That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right 
ought  to  be  free,  and  independent  States ;  that  they  are  ab 
solved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown,  and  that  all 
political  connection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great 
Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved. 

"  That  it  is  expedient  forthwith  to  take  the  most  effectual 
measures  for  forming  foreign  alliances. 

"  That  apian  of  confederation  be  prepared  and  transmitted 
to  the  respective  Colonies  for  their  consideration  and  appro 
bation  being  moved  and  seconded, 

"  Resolved,  That  the  consideration  of  them  be  deferred  till 
to-morrow  morning ;  and  that  the  members  be  enjoined  to 
attend  punctually  at  ten  o'clock,  in  order  to  take  the  same 
into  consideration." 

Agreeable  to  order,  the  Congress  resolved  itself  into  a  com 
mittee  of  the  whole  to  take  into  their  further  consideration 
the  resolutions  to  them  referred ;  and  after  some  time  spent 
thereon,  the  President  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Harrison, 
of  Virginia,  reported  that  the  committee  have  had  under 
consideration  the  matters  referred  to  them,  and  have  come 
to  a  resolution  thereon,  which  they  directed  him  to  report. 

The  resolution  agreed  to  in  the  committee  of  the  whole 
being  read, 

"Resolved,  That  the  consideration  of  the  first  resolution 
be  postponed  to  Monday,  the  1st  day  of  July  next ;  and  in 
the  mean  while  that  no  time  be  lost  in  case  the  Congress 
agree  thereto  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  prepare  a 
declaration  to  the  effect  of  the  said  first  resolution,  which  is 
in  these  words :  '  That  these  united  Colonies  are,  and  of 
right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States ;  that  they  are 
absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown ;  and  that 
all  political  connection  between  them  and  the  State  of  Great 
Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved.' 

"Resolved,  That  the  committee  be  discharged." 

Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Adams,  and  Thomas  Jeffer 
son  were  appointed  on  the  committee  to  prepare  the  Decla 
ration.  It  was  drawn  by  Mr.  Jefferson. 

"  Wednesday,  July  3,  1766. 

"Agreeable  to  the  order  of  the  day, the  Congress  resolved  it 
self  into  the  committee  of  the  whole  to  take  into  their  further 
consideration  the  Declaration ;  and  after  some  time  the  Presi 
dent  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Harrison  reported  that  the 


92  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

committee,  not  having  yet  gone  through  it,  desired  leave  to 
sit  again. 

"Resolved,  That  this  Congress  will  to-morrow  again  re 
solve  itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole  to  take  into  their 
further  consideration  the  Declaration  of  Independence." 


DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

"Thursday,  July  4,  1776. 

"  Agreeable  to  the  order  of  the  day,  the  Congress  resolved 
itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into  their  further 
consideration  the  Declaration ;  and  after  some  time,  the  Pres 
ident  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Harrison  reported  that  the 
committee  have  agreed  to  a  declaration,  which  they  desired 
him  to  report. 

4 '  The  Declaration  being  read,  was  agreed  to  as  follows : 

"  A  Declaration  by  the  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  General  Congress  Assembled : 

"  When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  neces 
sary  for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which 
have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assume,  among 
the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal  station  to 
which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God  entitle  them, 
a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  mankind  requires  that 
they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel  them  to  the  sep 
aration. 

"  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  That  all  men  are 
created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with 
certain  unalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness;  that  to  secure  these  rights, 
governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed ;  that  whenever  any 
form  of  government  becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is 
the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  insti 
tute  a  new  government,  laying  its  foundations  on  such  prin 
ciples,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them 
shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness. 
Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  governments  long  estab 
lished  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes ; 
and  accordingly  all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind  are 
more  disposed  to  suffer  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to 
right  themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are 
accustomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpa 
tions,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object,  evinces  a  design 
to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it 
is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  government,  and  to  provide 
new  guards  for  their  future  security.  Such  has  been  the 
patient  sufferance  of  these  Colonies ;  and  such  is  now  the  ne- 


TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  93 

cessity  which  constrains  them  to  alter  their  former  system 
of  government. 

"  The  history  of  the  present  King  of  Great  Britain  is  a  his 
tory  of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpations,  all  having  in  di 
rect  object  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over 
these  States.  To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  can 
did  world : 

"He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome 
and  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

4 '  He  has  forbidden  his  Governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate 
and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their  opera 
tion  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained;  and  when  so  sus 
pended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

"  He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation 
of  large  districts  of  people  unless  those  people  would  relin- 
giuish  the  right  of  representation  in  the  legislature— a  right 
inestimable,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  onljr. 

"  He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  un 
usual,  uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  depository  of 
their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them 
into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

"  He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly  for  op 
posing  with  manly  firmness  his  invasions  on  the  right  of  the 
people. 

"He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to 
cause  others  to  be  elected ;  whereby  the  legislative  powers, 
incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  people  at 
large  for  their  exercise,  the  state  remaining  in  the  mean 
time  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasion  from  without, 
and  convulsions  within. 

"He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these 
States;  for  that  purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for  natural 
ization  of  foreigners ;  refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage 
their  migrations  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new 
appropriations  of  lands. 

"  He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice  by  refus 
ing  his  assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

"  He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for  the 
tenure  of  their  offices  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their 
salaries. 

"  He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither 
swarms  of  officers  to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out  their  sub 
stance. 

"He  has  kept  among  us  in  times  of  peace,  standing  ar 
mies,  without  the  consent  of  our  legislature. 

"He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of 
and  superior  to  the  civil  power. 

"  He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdic 
tion  foreign  to  our  constitution  and  unacknowledged  by 


94  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

our  laws ;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended  legis 
lation  : 

"  For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us; 

* '  For  protecting  them  by  a  mock  trial  from  punishment, 
for  any  murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabi 
tants  of  these  States ; 

"For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world; 

"  For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent; 

"  For  depriving  us  in  many  cases  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by 
jury ; 

4 '  For  transporting  us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pretended 
offences ; 

"  For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neigh 
boring  Province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary  govern 
ment,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries  so  as  to  render  it  at  once 
an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same  ab 
solute  rule  into  these  Colonies ; 

"For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valu 
able  laws,  and  altering  fundamentally  the  powers  of  our 
government; 

"  For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring  them 
selves  invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases 
whatsoever. 

"He  has  abdicated  government  here  by  declaring  us  out  of 
his  protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

"He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt  our 
towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

"He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign 
mercenaries  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and 
tyranny,  already  begun,  with  circumstances  of  cruelty  and 
perfidy  scarcely  parallelled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and 
totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

"  He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on 
the  high  seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become 
the  executioners  of  their  friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall 
themselves  by  their  hands. 

"  He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  amongst  us,  and 
has  endeavored  to  bring,  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers, 
the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known  rules  of  warfare 
is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and  con 
ditions. 

"  In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions  we  have  petitioned 
for  redress  in  the  most  humble  terras;  our  repeated  petitions 
have  been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A  prince 
whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which  may 
define  a  tyrant  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

"Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attentions  to  our  British 
brethren.  We  have  warned  them  from  time  to  time  of  at 
tempts  by  their  legislature  to  extend  an  unwarrantable 
jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  cir- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  TEE  REPUBLIC.  95 

cumstances  of  our  emigration  and  settlement  here.  We 
have  appealed  to  their  native  justice  and  magnanimity,  and 
we  have  conjured  them,  by  the  ties  of  our  common  kindred, 
to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which  would  inevitably  inter 
rupt  our  connections  and  correspondence.  They  too  have 
been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  consanguinity.  We 
must  therefore  acquiesce  in  the  necessity  which  denounces 
our  separation,  and  hold  them  as  we  hold  the  rest  of  man 
kind—enemies  in  war,  in  peace  friends. 

"We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  UNITED 
STATES  OF  AMERICA,  in  general  Congress  assembled, 
appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the  recti 
tude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority 
of  the  good  people  of  these  Colonies,  solemnly  publish  and 
declare,  That  these  united  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought 
to  be,  free  and  independent  states ;  that  they  are  absolved 
from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  politi 
cal  connection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain 
is  and  ought  to  be  totally  dissolved ;  and  that,  as  free  and 
independent  states,  they  have  full  power  to  levy  war,  con 
clude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  do 
all  other  acts  and  things  which  independent  states  may  of 
right  do.  And  for  the  support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a 
firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of  divine  Providence,  we 
mutually  pledge  to  each  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sa 
cred  honor." 

"  The  foregoing  Declaration  was,  by  order  of  Congress  en 
grossed,  and  signed  by  the  following  members : 

JOHN  HANCOCK. 

New  Hampshire.  Delaware. 

Josiah  Bartlett,  Csesar  Rodney, 

William  Whipple,  George  Read, 

Matthew  Thornton.  Thomas  M'Kean. 

Rhode  Island. 

Stephen  Hopkins,  Maryland. 

William  Ellery.  .  _.. 

Samuel  Chase, 

Connecticut.  "\Yilliam  Paca, 
Roger  Sherman,  ^omas  Stone,     ^       n 
Samuel  Huntin^ton,  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carroll- 
William  Williams,  ton- 
Oliver  Wolcott. 

Massachusetts  Bay.  New  YorJc- 

Samuel  Adams,  William  Floyd, 

John  Adams,  Philip  Livingston, 

Robert  Treat  Paine,  Francis  Lewis, 

Elbridge  Gerry.  Lewis  Morris, 


96  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

New  Jersey.  Thomas  Jefferson, 

Richard  Stockton,  Benjamin  Harrison, 

John  Witherspoon,  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr., 

Francis  Hopkinson,  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee, 

John  Hart,  Carter  Braxton. 
Abraham  Clark.  North  Carolina, 

Pennsylvania.  William  Hooper, 

Robert  Morris,  Joseph  Hewes, 

Benjamin  Rush,  John.  Penn. 
Benjamin  Franklin, 

John  Morton,  South  Carolina. 

George  Clymer,  Edward  Rutledge, 

James  Smith,  Thomas  Hey  ward,  Jr., 

George  Taylor,  Thomas  Lynch,  Jr., 

James  Wilson,  Arthur  Middleton. 
George  Ross.  Georgia. 

Virginia.  Button  Gwinnett, 

George  Wythe,  Lyman  Hall. 

Richard  Henry  Lee,  George  Walton. 

"  Resolved,  That  copies  of  the  Declaration  be  sent  to  the 
several  assemblies,  conventions,  and  committees,  or  coun 
cils  of  safety,  and  to  the  several  commanding  officers  of  the 
continental  troops;  that  it  be  proclaimed  in  each  of  the 
United  States,  and  at  the  head  of  the  army." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MOVEMENTS  IN  THE  COLONIES. 

Massachusetts. 

A  REPORT  made  to  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  20th  April, 
1774,  has  become,  in  the  light  of  subsequent  history,  an  im 
perishable  monument  to  the  irrepressible  love  of  liberty,  as 
well  as  the  unconquerable  spirit  of  the  people  of  Massachu 
setts. 

The  introductory  lines  of  this  elaborate  document  will  con 
vey  a  clear  notion  of  its  character  arid  contents.  They  are 
as  follows: 

."The  Earl  of  Buckinghamshire  reported  from  the  lords 
committee  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  several  proceed 
ings  in  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  opposition  to  the 
sovereignty  of  his  Majesty,  in  his  Parliament  of  Great  Brit- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  97 

ain,  over  that  Province,  and  also  what  has  passed  in  this 
House  relative  thereto  from  the  first  day  of  January,  1764." 

The  report  proceeds  to  recite  the  several  acts  of  Parlia 
ment  affecting  the  Colonies,  the  resolutions  of  the  lords,  the 
proclamations  of  the  King,  the  speeches  from  the  throne, 
and  the  responsive  addresses  of  the  lords.  It  also  quotes 
from  or  states  the  substance  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Assem 
bly  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  the  resolutions  of  county  and 
town  meetings,  and  relates  the  acts  of  mob  violence  which 
occurred  in  Boston. 

The  report  is,  in  substance,  one  long  indictment  against 
the  people  of  Massachusetts,  based  on  allegations  which 
every  son  of  the  State  then  and  now  would  be  proud  to  ad 
mit  the  truth  of.  It  would  occupy  far  too  much  space  for 
me  to  quote  all  the  facts  complained  of  by  the  committee; 
and  I  only  copy  the  more  striking  statements,  and  make 
brief  references  to  the  remainder.  Their  first  complaint  is 
as  follows : 

"The  committee,  having  perused  the  report  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  of  the  llth  day  of  December,  1764,  and  the  papers 
laid  before  his  Majesty  therewith,  find  in  the  said  papers  the 
strongest  assertions,  by  the  Assembly  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay,  of  their  sole  right  to  pass  laws,  particularly  of  taxa 
tion  ;  and  of  their  resolution  to  invite  the  other  Colonies  to 
combine  with  them  in  measures  to  prevent  the  King,  in  his 
Parliament,  from  passing  any  such  laws.  For  instance,  in 
a  letter  to  Mr.  Mauduit,  then  agent  of  the  Province,  which 
was  drawn  up  by  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  and  afterwards  approved  by  the  House,  they  used  the 
following  expressions :  '  The  silence  of  the  Province  should 
have  been  imputed  to  any  cause,  even  to  despair,  rather 
than  be  construed  into  a  tacit  cession  of  their  rights,  or  an 
acknovyledgment  of  a  right  in  the  Parliament  of  Great  Brit 
ain  to  impose  duties  and  taxes  upon  a  people  who  are  not 
represented  in  the  House  of  Commons;'  and  in  the  same  let 
ter  they  avowed  and  authenticated  the  doctrines  advanced 
in  a  certain  pamphlet,  entitled  'The  Rights  of  the  British 
Colonies  Asserted  and  Proved,'  written  by  James  Otis,  Esq., 
which  pamphlet,  amongst  other  things,  says:  'That  the  im 
position  of  taxes,  whether  on  trade  or  on  lands,  on  houses  or 
ships,  on  real  or  personal,  fixed  or  floating,  property  in  the 
Colonies,  is  absolutely  irreconcilable  with  the  rights  of  the 
colonists,  as  British  subjects,  and  as  men.' 

"  It  appears  to  the  committee,  from  the  votes  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  of 
the  6th  of  June,  1765,  that  they  came  to  a  resolution,  '  That 
it  was  highly  expedient  there  should  be  a  meeting,  as  soon 
as  might  be,  of  committees  from  the  Houses  of  Representa 
tives  or  Burgesses,  in  the  several  Colonies  on  the  American 
continent,'  to  consult  on  their  then  present  circumstances, 


98  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

and  the  difficulties  to  which  they  were  reduced  by  the  opera 
tion  of  the  late  acts  of  Parliament  for  levying  duties  on  the 
Colonies,  and  to  consider  of  a  general  address  to  his  Majesty 
and  the  Parliament,  to  implore  relief;  and  that  letters  should 
be  forthwith  prepared  and  transmitted  to  the  respective 
speakers  of  the  several  Assemblies,  to  invite  them  to  accede 
to  this  proposition ;  and,  further,  that  on  the  8th  of  June  they 
did  actually  elect  three  persons  to  be  their  committees,  and 
also  voted  £450  to  bear  their  expenses." 

They  next  give  an  account  of  the  destruction  of  the  stamps 
by  the  people  of  Boston,  in  August,  1765 ;  but  of  this  event  I 
have  presented  a  full  history  in  preceding  parts  of  this  com 
pilation.  These  violent  proceedings  in  regard  to  the  stamps, 
which  began  in  Boston,  August  15th,  and  were  followed  up 
by  all  of  the  Colonies,  one  after  another,  caused  the  King  and 
Parliament  to  halt  in  their  despotic  career.  The  Stamp  Act 
was  repealed ;  and,  what  is  still  more  remarkable,  an  act  was 
passed  to  render  valid  all  legal  instruments  which  had  been 
executed  on  unstamped  paper  in  America  during  the  exist 
ence  of  that  odious  law. 

**  The  committee  find  that,  on  the  meeting  of  the  As 
sembly  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  on  the  28th  of 
January,  1767,  a  message  was  sent  to  the  Governor  from  the 
House  of  Representatives,  desiring  to  be  informed,  'Whether 
any  provision  had  been  made  at  the  expense  of  that  govern 
ment  for  the  King's  troops,  lately  arrived  in  the  harbor  of 
Boston ;'  and  that  after  having  had  the  minutes  of  Council 
(by  which  it  expressly  appeared  that  the  provision  for  the 
artillery  companies  at  the  castle  was  made  in  pursuance  of 
the  then  late  act  of  Parliament)  laid  before  them,  they  re 
plied  that,  '  In  giving  orders,  with  the  advice  of  the  Coun 
cil,  for  making  provisions  for  the  artillery  companies  at  the 
castle,  the  Governor  had  acted  in  an  essential  point  against 
the  plain  intent  of  the  charter,  by  which  alone,  and  that 
only,  according  to  such  acts  as  are  or  may  be  in  force  with 
in  this  province,  the  Governor  and  Council  were  authorized 
to  issue  money  out  of  the  treasury ;'  adding,  *  That  it  was 
still  more  grievous  to  them  to  find  the  Governor  stating,  as 
the  foundation  of  the  proceeding,  a  late  act  of  Parliament, 
which  to  them  appeared  as  great  a  grievance  as  the  Stamp 
Act,  which  took  away  the  unalienable  right  of  freedom  from 
all  taxation,  but  such  as  they  should  voluntary  consent  to 
and  grant.' 

"  The  committee  call  attention  to  another  circular-letter 
of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives,  of  the  date 
of  1768,  in  which  an  appeal  is  made  to  the  Assemblies  of 
other  Colonies  for  co-operation  in  protesting  against  the 
acts  of  Parliament  which  imposed  duties  on  the  Colony. 

"The  committee  complain  that  the  people  of  Massachu- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  99 

setts,  in  the  election  of  the  Council,  in  1766,  '67,  and  '68, 
'  left  out  all  the  Crown  officers.' 

44  The  committee  narrate  at  seme  length  the  circumstances 
attending  the  seizure  by  the  Collector  and  Comptroller  of 
the  Customs,  of  the  sloop  Liberty,  the  property  of  John  Han 
cock,  of  Boston.  This  happened  on  the  9th  of  May,  1768. 
It  *  occasioned  a  most  violent  tumult ;  the  Collector  and 
Comptroller,  with  the  son  of  the  Collector,  were  attacked  by 
a  numerous  and  outrageous  mob,  who  beat  and  abused  them 
in  a  most  cruel  manner;  and  in  the  night  attacked  their 
houses,  broke  the  windows,  seized  on  a  boat  belonging  to 
the  Collector,  which  they  carried  away  in  triumph,  and 
afterwards  burnt.  The  commissioners  of  the  customs,  ex 
pecting  the  same  treatment,  the  riot  still  continuing,  thought 
it  prudent  to  retreat  for  safety  till  midnight  with  their  fami 
lies  to  the  houses  of  some  persons  in  the  neighborhood ;  and 
afterwards,  upon  conviction  that  their  lives  were  in  danger, 
took  refuge  on  board  his  Majesty's  ship  the  Eomney,  then 
in  the  harbor  of  Boston,  and  for  their  further  security,  from 
thence  into  Castle  William.' 

"  The  commissioners,  from  their  retreat  in  the  castle,  ap 
plied  several  times  to  the  Governor,  Sir  Francis  Bernard, 
for  protection.  But  the  tone  of  his  reply  shows  entire  help 
lessness  on  his  part,  as  well  as  a  degree  of  timid  acquies 
cence  in  what  was  deemed  inevitable.  At  length,  on  the 
22d  of  July,  he  referred  the  letter  to  the  Council,  which 
body  fully  resolved  '  That  the  disorders  which  happened 
were  occasioned  by  the  violent  and  unprecedented  manner 
in  which  the  sloop  Liberty  had  been  seized  by  the  officers  of 
the  customs.' 

"Two  regiments  were  sent  to  Boston  in  consequence  of 
these  events,  to  support  the  civil  power  and  preserve  the 
peace;  but  this  proceeding  was  the  source  of  new  disorders. 
The  troops  were  cautioned  against  quarrelling  with  the 
townspeople,  '  by  whom  they  complained  they  had  been  fre 
quently  ill-treated  and  insulted.'  Nevertheless,  violent  col 
lisions  occurred  between  the  troops  and  the  citizens,  which 
caused  the  latter  to  be  fired  upon,  and  several  were  killed. 

At  a  town  meeting,  on  the  12th  September,  1768,  the  free 
holders  and  inhabitants  of  Boston  declared,  by  resolution, 
that  the  taxation  of  the  Colony  by  the  British  Parliament 
was  a  violation  of  the  charter  and  of  natural  right.  They 
also  resolved,  as  the  Governor  refused  to  call  the  Assembly 
together,  that  a  committee  of  their  number  should  be 
elected  to  meet  committees  from  the  other  towns  of  the 
Province,  in  convention,  "in  order  that  such  measures 
might  be  consulted  and  advised  as  his  Majesty's  service,  and 
the  peace  and  safety  of  his  subjects  in  the  Province,  might 
require. "  They  also  voted  that  ' '  every  listed  soldier  "  ' '  shall 
always  be  provided  with  a  well-fixed  fire-locn  musket,  ac- 


100  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

coutrement,  and  amunition."  This  was  based  on  the  appre 
hension  of  a  war  with  France. 

The  select-men,  by  instruction  of  this  town  meeting,  ad 
dressed  a  long  circular-letter  to  the  other  towns,  in  which 
their  common  grievances  were  set  forth,  and  in  which  they 
were  called  on  to  send  delegates,  or,  as  they  are  called, 
committees,  to  meet  in  a  Provincial  convention  for  the  pur 
pose  of  devising  measures  of  redress.  The  proposed  con 
vention  was  to  assemble  on  the  22  of  September. 

At  this  point  I  leave  the  report  of  the  committee  for  a 
while,  in  order  to  refer  to  the  proceedings  of  this  convention. 

It  met  in  Faneuil  Hall,  according  to  Barry,  at  the  ap 
pointed  time,  September  22d,  1768.  He  says: 

"The  convention  called  by  the  people  of  Boston  met  ac 
cording  to  appointment ;  and,  on  the  first  day,  about  seventy 
persons  appeared,  the  representatives  of  sixty-six  towns. 
This  number  was  increased  by  daily  arrivals,  until  ninety- 
six  towns  and  eight  districts,  nearly  every  settlement  in 
i  the  Province,  was  represented.  Otis  was  at  first  absent ; 
and  Thomas  Gushing,  the  speaker  of  the  House,  was  chosen 
moderator,  and  the  clerk  of  the  House  was  chosen  clerk  of 
the  convention." 

"They  have  committed  treason,"  shouted  the  officers  of 
the  Crown.  "  At  least  the  select-men  of  Boston  have  done 
so."  "Boston,"  wrote  Gage,  "  is  mutinous;  its  resolves  are 
treasonable  and  desperate,"  etc. 

The  convention  petitioned  the  Governor  to  "cause  an 
Assembly  to  be  immediately  convened. "  This  he  declined  to 
do,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  be  an  admission  of  the  le 
gality  of  the  body.  He  advised  the  members  to  separate  at 
once,  and,  if  they  failed  to  do  so,  he  would  assert  the  preroga 
tive  of  the  Crown,  and  those  who  persisted  in  usurping  its 
rights,  would  be  made  to  "  repent  their  rashness."  "  But," 
says  the  historian,  ' '  the  message  was  received  with  deri 
sion." 

The  convention  continued  in  session  six  days,  and  re 
peated  the  protest  of  the  people  against  the  taxation  of 
the  Colonies  by  Parliament,  against  a  standing  army,  and 
against  the  danger  to  the  "liberties  of  America,  from  a  unit 
ed  body  of  pensioners  and  soldiers;"  and,  after  renting 
their  petition  to  the  King,  which  their  agent  was  enjoined 
to  deliver  in  person,  as  soon  as  possible,  they  dissolved. 
"Some  feared,  others  hoped,  for  much  more  serious  conse 
quences  from  this  extraordinary  assembly."  But  its  mem 
bers,  aware  of  the  necessity  of  prudence,  displayed  in  all 
their  proceedings  remarkable  caution,  and  when  the  result 
of  their  labors  was  transmitted  to  England,  though  many 
would  gladly  have  seized  upon  the  slightest  flaw  to  justify 
their  exemplary  punishment,  "no  traces  of  high  treason 
could  be  found  in  what  had  been  done." 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  101 

The  Boston  town  meeting,  and  the  convention  which  it 
called  into  being,  caused  great  indignation  among  the  gov 
erning  party  in  England. 

The  King,  in  his  speech,  November  8th,  refers  to  it  as  fol 
lows:  "The  capital  town  of  which  Colony  appears,  hy  late 
advices,  to  be  in  a  state  of  disobedience  to  all  law  and  gov 
ernment,  and  has  proceeded  to  measures  subversive  of  the 
Constitution,  and  attended  with  circumstances  that  manifest 
a  disposition  to  throw  off  their  dependence  on  Great  Brit 
ain."  The  lords  responded  Amen  to  this  speech;  and  on  the 
15th  December  (I  again  quote  this  committee's  report),  they 
resolved, 

' '  That  the  declarations,  resolutions,  and  proceedings  in  the 
town  meeting  at  Boston  on  the  14th  of  June  and  12th  of  Sep 
tember  were  illegal  and  unconstitutional,  and  calculated  to 
excite  sedition  and  insurrection  in  his  Majesty's  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay. 

"  That  the  appointment,  at  the  town  meeting  on  the  12th 
of  September,  of  a  convention  to  be  held  in  the  town  of  Bos 
ton  on  the  22d  of  that  month  to  consist  of  deputies  from 
the  several  towns  and  districts  in  the  Province  of  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  and  the  issuing  a  precept,  by  the  select-men 
of  the  town  of  Boston,  to  each  of  the  said  towns  and  districts, 
for  the  election  of  such  deputies,  were  proceedings  subver 
sive  of  his  Majesty's  government,  and  evidently  manifesting 
a  design  in  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  town  of  Boston  to  set 
up  a  new  and  unconstitutional  authority,  independent  of  the 
Crown  of  Great  Britain. 

That  the  elections,  by  several  towns  and  districts  in  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  of  deputies  to  sit  in  the  said 
convention,  and  the  meeting  of  such  convention  in  conse 
quence  thereof,  were  daring  insults  offered  to  his  Majesty's 
authority,  and  audacious  usurpations  of  the  powers  of  gov 
ernment"." 

The  first  of  these  series  of  resolutions  declares  that  the 
votes,  resolutions,  and  proceedings  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  the  months  of  January 
and  February  of  the  same  year  (1768),  so  far  as  they  deny 
the  right  of  the  King  and  Parliament  to  make  laws  binding 
upon  the  Colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  "are  illegal,  un 
constitutional,  and  derogatory  of  the  rights  of  the  Crown 
and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain." 

The  second  of  these  resolutions  declares  that  the  resolu 
tions  of  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  in  January  preceding, 
which  provide  for  sending  delegates  to  a  general  convention 
of  the  Colonies,  and  which  deny  the  validity  of  acts  of  Par 
liament,  etc.,  uare  proceedings  of  a  most  unwarrantable 
and  dangerous  nature,  calculated  to  inflame  the  minds  of 
his  Majesty's  subjects  in  the  other  Colonies,  tending  to  create 


102  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

unlawful  combinations,  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  and  subversive  of  the  Constitution." 

On  the  same  day  an  humble  address  was  voted  to  his  Maj 
esty,  ' '  to  express  our  sincere  satisfaction  in  the  measures 
his  Majesty  has  pursued  for  supporting  the  constitution, 
and  inducing  a  due  obedience  to  the  authority  of  the  leglis- 
lature."  The  measures  here  refered  to  which  gave  such 
satisfaction  to  their  lordships  were  not  unlike  those  recom 
mended  by  Dr.  Franklin,  in  his  humorous  letter  addressed 
to  the  rulers  of  England,  in  which  he  points  out  the  most 
effective  plan  for  reducing  a  great  empire  to  a  small  one. 

The  House  of  Commons,  on  the  9th  of  February,  1769,  re 
turned  the  resolutions  and  address  of  the  lords,  with  some 
amendments,  which  the  latter  boiy  agreed  to. 

The  committee  whose  elaborate  report  I  am  quoting  from 
naively  remark  that  "It  doth  not  appear  to  the  committee 
that  the  censure  of  the  proceedings  in  the  Province  of  Mas 
sachusetts  Bay,  and  of  the  conduct  of  the  Council  and  other 
civil  magistrates,  expressed  by  both  Houses  of  Parliament 
in  their  resolutions,  and  their  approbation  of  the  measure  of 
sending  troops  thither  to  support  and  protect  the  magis 
trates,  and  the  officers  of  the  revenue,  produced  the  good 
effect  that  might  reasonably  have  been  hoped  for."  One 
would  have  supposed  that  observations  such  as  the  above 
might  have  led  the  committee  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
change  of  policy  was  necessary ;  but  the  effect  was  to  confirm 
their  lordships,  as  well  as  the  King  and  Parliament,  in  the 
notion  that  the  same  tyrannical  policy  should  be  persisted 
in  and  carried  to  greater  extremes  of  harshness.  This  fatal 
delusion  is  always  sure  to  possess  the  minds  of  men  who  are 
in  the  exercise  of  arbitrary  power. 

The  Parliamentary  committee  complain  that  the  "  Meet 
ings  of  the  associators  were  represented  to  have  been  held 
in  as  regular  a  manner  as  any  other  meeting  authorized  by 
the  Constitution.  Committees  were  appointed  to  examine 
the  cargoes  of  aU  vessels  arriving  from  Great  Britain ;  and, 
regular  votes  and  resolutions  of  censure  were  passed  in 
these  meetings  upon  all  such  as  refused  to  concur  in  those 
unlawful  associations;  their  names  were  published  in  the 

Sublic  newspapers  as  enemies  to  their  country ;  and  the  man- 
ates  and  decrees  of  those  committees  meet  with  a  respect 
and  obedience  denied  to  the  constitutional  authority  of  gov 
ernment.  In  some  cases,  goods  imported  from  Great  Britain 
were  locked  up  in  warehouses,  under  the  care  of  these  com 
mittees,  in  order  to  prevent  their  being  sold,  and  in  one  or 
two  instances  they  were  reshipped  to  Great  Britain." 

On  the  31st  of  May  the  General  Assembly  sent  a  message 
to  the  Governor,  complaining  of  the  presence  of  troops  in 
the  town  of  Boston,  and  ships  in  the  harbor,  and  calling  on 
him  to  have  them  sent  away,  as  their  presence  was  incom- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  103 

patible  with  the  dignity  and  independence  of  the  Assembly. 
The  Governor  replied  that  he  had  no  control  over  the  troops 
or  the  ships;  to  which  the  Assembly,  on  the  31st  of  June, 
made  answer  that,  "By  the  principles  of  the  Constitution, 
the  Governor  of  the  Colony  had  the  absolute  military  com 
mand  ;  that  the  sending  a  military  force  there  to  enforce  the 
execution  of  the  laws  is  in  consistent  with  the  nature  of  govern 
ment  and  the  spirit  of  a  free  constitution ;  that  the  unwilling 
ness,  of  a  people  in  general,  that  a  law  should  be  executed  was 
a  strong  presumption  of  its  being  an  unjust  law ;  that  it  could 
not  be  their  law,  as  the  people  must  consent  to  laws  before 
they  can  be  obliged,  in  conscience,  to  obey  them." 
On  the  8th  of  July  the  Assembly  passed  resolutions  de- 


the  rights  of  British  subjects,  as  thereby  the  inestimable 
privilege  of  being  tried  by  a  jury  from  the  vicinage,  as  well 
as  the  liberty  of  summoning  and  producing  witnesses  on 
such  trials,  will  be  taken  away  from  the  party  accused." 

The  Parliamentary  committee  give  the  substance  of  a 
letter  from  Lieutenant-governor  Hutchinson,  of  March  27, 
1770,  who  lamented  that  when  the  troops  were  in  Boston 
they  were  of  no  use  in  enforcing  the  laws  in  cases  of  riot, 
as  no  civil  magistrate  would  have  called  on  them,  for  fear 
of  being  driven  from  the  town. 

Hutchinson,  in  a  letter  of  April  27.  1770,  complains  of 
the  associators  that  they  would  not  tolerate  the  sale  of  what 
they  called  contraband  goods — that  is  to  say,  such  as  were 
not  enumerated  in  their  schedule ;  that  tea  from  Holland 
might  be  sold,  but  that  it  was  a  high  crime  to  sell  any  from 
England;  "  that  several  of  the  importers  pleaded  that  they 
should  be  utterly  ruined,  but  the  Boston  zealots  had  no 
bowels,  and  gave  for  answer,  that,  if  a  ship  was  to  bring  in 
the  plague,  nobody  would  doubt  what  was  to  be  done  with  her; 
but  the  present  case  is  much  worse  than  that." 

In  the  same  letter  Hutchinson  observes  "  that  the  Boston 
principles  obtain  more  and  more  in  the  remote  parts  of  the 
Province,  and  the  Representatives  of  seven  eighths  of  the 
towns  appear,  in  the  present  session,  to  be  favorers  of  the 
non -importation  measures."  He  states,  however,  that,  when 
the  resolutions  and  addresses  of  Parliament  first  came  to 
hand,  they  had  a  terrifying  effect  upon  the  popular  leaders 
and  the  press ;  but  after  a  few  weeks,  when  they  found  that 
the  vigorous  measures  were  relaxed,  "they  became  more 
assuming  and  tyrannical  than  before." 

In  1771,  July  5th,  the  Assembly  declare  that  "  they  know 
of  no  commissioners  of  his  Majesty's  customs,  nor  of  any 
revenue  his  Majesty  has  a  right  to  establish,  in  North  Amer 
ica;  that  they  know  and  feel  a  tribute  levied  and  extorted 


104  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

from  those  who,  if  they  have  property,  have  a  right  to 
the  absolute  disposal  of  it." 

The  Parliamentary  committee  quote  the  address  of  the 
select-men  of  Boston  to  the  Governor,  of  October  28,»  1772, 
in  which  they  earnestly  protest  against  the  recent  act  of 
Parliament  which  applied  the  revenues  of  the  Province  to  the 
payment  of  fixed  salaries  to  the  judges  of  the  Superior  Court, 
and  the  attorney  and  solicitor-general,  in  violation  of  the 
Charter.  At  the  same  meeting,  a  committee  for  correspon 
dence  with  the  other  towns  of  the  Province  was  established. 

On  the  25th  January,  1773,  the  Council,  in  its  answer  to 
the  Governor,  declare,  "  They  are  of  opinion  that  the  Parlia 
ment  cannot  constitutionally  levy  taxes,  in  any  form,  on 
his  Majesty's  subjects  in  that  Province." 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY. 

The  Parliamentary  committee  give  the  following  account 
of  the  destruction  of  the  tea  in  Boston  Harbor ;  and  of  the 
preliminary  proceedings  and  acts  of  violence  of  the  town's 
people  which  led  to  it: 

"  The  committee  of  correspondence  appear  to  have  used 
their  utmost  endeavors  to  work  up  the  minds  of  the  people 
not  only  for  their  own,  but  also  the  southern  governments, 
to  prevent  the  importation  of  teas  from  the  East  India  Com 
pany  ;  and  accordingly,  on  the  3d  of  November,  1773,  a  mob 
of  about  five  hundred  persons  committed  several  outrageous 
acts  of  violence  against  the  persons  to  whom  it  was  expected 
the  tea  in  question  would  be  consigned ;  insisting  that  they 
should  engage  and  promise  not  to  receive  or  sell  it ;  that  if 
they  did,  they  would  be  voted  enemies  to  their  country,  and 
must  expect  to  be  treated  as  such  hereafter.  They  then 
forced  open  the  doors  of  the  warehouses  of  Mr.  Clark,  and 
tore  them  off  the  hinges,  and  entered  with  great  violence, 
attempting  to  force  their  way  to  the  counting-house,  but 
were  driven  back  by  the  persons  who  were  in  it. 

"  A  committee  then  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabit 
ants  attended  Messrs.  Thomas  and  Elisha  Hutchinson,  sup 
posed  to  be  two  of  the  consignees,  and  requested  them  to 
resign  their  appointment,  and,  upon  their  refusing,  voted 
their  answer  unsatisfactory.  Governor  Hutchinson  did 
everything  in  his  power,  without  the  Council,  for  the  pres 
ervation  of  the  peace  and  good  order  of  the  town,  and 
thought  that,  if  he  had  the  aid  Council  might  have  given, 
his  endeavors  would  have  been  more  effectual. 

*'  On  the  7th  of  November,  1773,  a  large  number  of  people 
beset  the  house  of  Mr.  Hutchinson,  but,  not  finding  him  at 
home,  proceeded  to  Mr.  Clark's,  another  of  the  consipniees, 
where  they  committed  great  disorders— broke  the  glasses 


TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  105 

and  frames  of  the  windows,  and  did  considerable  damage. 
After  this  riot,  the  Governor  immediately  summoned  a  Coun 
cil,  and  laid  before  them  the  necessity  of  some  measures  be 
ing  taken ;  but  the  Council  declined  advising  or  directing 
any  measures  for  landing  the  tea,  suggesting  that  then 
they  would  of  course  advise  to  a  measure  for  procuring  the 
payment  of  the  duty,  and  therefore  be  advising  to  a  measure 
inconsistent  with  the  declared  sentiment  of  both  Houses  in 
the  last  winter  session  of  the  General  Court,  which  they  ap 
prehended  to  be  altogether  inexpedient  and  improper. 

"  After  the  arrival  of  a  ship  loaded  with  tea,  a  meeting  of 
the  people  of  Boston  and  the  neighboring  towns  was  held  on 
the  29th  of  November,  and  continued,  by  adjournment,  till 
the  next  day,  when  a  motion  was  made  and  agreed  to,  nem. 
con.,  that  the  tea  should  be  not  only  sent  back,  but  that  no 
duty  should  be  paid  thereon. 

"It  was  also  voted,  nem.  con.,  that  Mr.  Rotch,  owner  of 
the  vessel,  and  Captain  Hall,  the  master  of  the  ship,  at  their 
peril,  should  not  suffer  any  of  the  tea  to  be  landed ;  it  was 
also  voted  that  Governor  Hutchinson's  conduct  in  request 
ing  the  justices  of  the  peace  to  meet  to  suppress  all  riots  and 
unlawful  assemblies  carried  a  designed  reflection  upon  the 
people  there  met,  and  was  solely  calculated  to  serre  the 
views  of  administration.  They  afterwards  voted  that  the 
tea  brought  by  Captain  Hall  should  be  returned  by  Mr. 
Rotch  to  England,  in  the  same  botton  in  which  it  came.  It 
was  also  voted,  nem.  cow.,  that  six  persons  should  be  appointed 
to  give  due  notice  to  the  towns  in  the  country,  when  they 
should  be  required  so  to  do,  upon  any  important  occasion. 

"  They  also  resolved  that,  if  any  person  or  persons  should 
hereafter  import  any  tea  from  Great  Britain,  or  if  any 
master  or  masters  of  any  vessel  or  vessels  in  Great  Britain 
should  take  the  same  on  board  to  be  imported  to  that  place, 
until  the  said  unrighteous  act  should  be  repealed,  he  or  they 
should  be  deemed  by  that  body  an  enemy  to  his  country ; 
and  that  they  would  prevent  the  landing  and  sale  of  the 
same,  and  the  payment  of  any  duty  thereon ;  and  that  they 
would  effect  the  return  thereof  to  the  place  from  whence  it 
came. 

"They  also  resolved  that  these  their  votes  be  printed 
and  sent  to  England  and  all  the  sea  ports  in  the  province. 
Before  they  separated,  they  voted  that  their  brethren  in  the 
country  should  be  desired  to  give  their  assistance  upon  the 
first  notice  that  should  be  given. 

"  After  the  dissolution  of  this  assembly  of  the  people,  what 
is  called  the  committee  of  correspondence  called  in  commit 
tees  of  other  towns,  kept  up  a  military  watch  and  guard 
every  night  to  prevent  the  landing  any  teas,  and  appeared 
to  be  the  executioners  of  the  resolves  and  orders  passed  at 
the  aforesaid  assembly. 


106  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"The  consignees  haying  retired  to  the  castle,  the  owner  of 
the  first  ship  that  arrived  was  the  principal  person  applied 
to,  and  he  was  sent  for  repeatedly  by  these  committees,  and 
was  frequently  required  to  send  back  the  ship  with  the  teas. 
He  pleaded  '  that  he  could  not  get  a  clearance  at  the  custom 
house  nor  a  pass  for  the  castle ;  and  that,  if  he  should  be 
able  to  get  his  ship  out  of  the  harbor,  both  ship  and  cargo 
would  be  forfeited  in  every  part  of  the  King's  dominions.' 
This  was  not  thought  satisfactory,  and  the  next  morning 
another  assembly  of  the  people  met  and  chose  a  moderator. 
At  this  meeting  it  was  determined  that  Mr.  Eotch,  the 
owner  of  the  ship,  should  demand  at  the  custom-house  a 
clearance  of  the  teas  for  England,  which  was  done  the  15th, 
when  the  collector  and  comptroller  refused  to  grant  it. 

' '  He  then  was  obliged  to  demand  a  permit  from  the  naval 
office  to  pass  the  castle ;  afterwards  he  was  sent  to  the  Gov 
ernor  to  apply  to  him  for  the  permit,  who  soon  satisfied 
him  that  no  permit  could  be  granted  until  the  vessel  was 
regularly  cleared.  He  returned  to  town  that  evening,  and 
reported  this  answer  to  the  meeting.  Immediately  where 
upon,  numbers  of  the  people  cried  out,  '  A  mob !  a  mob !'  left 
the  house,  repaired  to  the  wharfs  where  three  of  the  vessels 
lay  aground,  having  on  board  three  hundred  and  forty 
chests  of  tea,  and  in  two  hours'  time  it  was  totally  destroyed. 
A  sufficient  number  of  people  for  doing  the  work  were  dis 
guised,  and  these  were  surrounded  by  numbers,  as  well  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  as  of  other  towns. 

"The  committee  observe  that  many  persons  of  considera 
tion  in  the  town  of  Boston  took  the  lead  in  the  proceedings 
of  this  meeting,  for  whose  names  they  beg  leave  to  refer 
your  lordships  to  the  papers  themselves." 

This  affair  drew  forth  from  the  King  "under  his  royal 
sign  manual,"  a  letter  to  Parliament,  and  that  body  pro 
ceeded  to  pass  the  famous  "Boston  Port  Bill,"  closing  the 
harbor  against  ingress  or  egress  "  for  all  goods,  wares,  and 
merchandise." 


THE    BOSTON  PORT  BILL, 

This  bill  was  approved  by  the  King,  March  31,  1774.  It 
is  entitled  "  An  act  to  Discontinue,  in  such  Manner  and  for 
such  Time  as  therein  Mentioned,  the  Landing  and  Discharg 
ing,  Lading  or  Shipping,  of  Goods,  Wares,  and  Merchandise, 
at  the  Town  and  within  the  Harbor  of  Boston,  in  the  Prov- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  107 

ince  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  North  America."  The  title  of 
the  act  may  be  thought  to  indicate  sufficiently  its  character 
and  scope,  without  a  recital  of  its  provisions;  but  for  the 
convenience  of  reference,  the  principal  sections  are  presented 
below.  The  preamble  alleges  "  dangerous  commotions  and 
insurrections,"  in  which  "valuable  cargoes  of  teas,  being 
the  property  of  the  East  India  Company,  and  on  board  cer 
tain  vessels  lying  within  the  bay  or  harbor  of  Boston,  were 
seized  and  destroyed,"  as  the  reason,  for  the  passage  of  the 
act.  A  proviso  excepts,  from  the  general  prohibition  of  com 
merce,  "any  fuel  or  victual  brought  coastwise  from  any 
part  of  the  continent  of  America,  for  the  necessary  use  and 
sustenance  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  town  of  Boston." 

Extracts  From  the  Bill. 

"  Anno  Decimo-Quarto  Geqrgii  III.,  Regis. 

"An  Act  to  Discontinue,  in  such  Manner  and  for  such 
Time  as  are  therein  Mentioned,  the  Landing  and  Discharging, 
Lading  or  Shipping,  of  Goods,  Wares,  and  Merchandise  at  the 
Town  and  within  the  Harbor  of  Boston,  in  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  in  North  America.  Approved  March  31, 
1774. 

"  Whereas,  dangerous  commotions  and  insurrections  have 
been  fomented  and  raised  in  the  town  of  Boston,  of  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  in  New  England,  by  divers  ill-affected  persons, 
to  the  subversion  of  his  Majesty's  government,  and  to  the 
utter  destruction  of  the  public  peace  and  good  order  of  the 
said  town,  in  which  commotions  and  insurrections,  certain 
valuable  cargoes  of  tea,  being  the  property  of  the  East  India 
Company,  and  on  board  certain  vessels  lying  within  the 
bay  or  harbor  of  Boston,  were  seized  and  destroyed ;  and, 
whereas,  in  the  present  condition  of  the  town  and  harbor, 
the  commerce  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  cannot  be  safely  car 
ried  on  there,  nor  the  customs  payable  to  his  Majesty  duly- 
collected  ;  and  it  is  therefore  expedient  that  the  officers  of 
his  Majesty's  customs  should  be  forthwith  removed  from 
the  said  town;  may  it  please  your  Majesty  that  it  may  be 
enacted,  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  King's  most  excellent  Maj 
esty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords,  spir 
itual  and  temporal,  and  commons  in  this  present  Parlia 
ment  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that 
from  and  after  the  first  day  of  June,  1774,  it  shall  not  be 
lawful  for  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever  to  lade  or 
put,  or  cause,  or  procure  to  be  laden  or  put  off  or  from  any 
quay,  wharf,  or  other  place  within  the  said  town  of  Boston, 
or  in  or  upon  any  part  of  the  shore  of  the  bay  commonly 
called  the  harbor  of  Boston,  between  a  certain  headland  or 
point  called  Nahant  Point,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  entrance 
into  the  said  bay,  and  a  certain  headland  or  point  called 


108  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  EEPTTBLIG. 

Alderton  Point,  on  the  western  side  of  the  entrance  into  the 
said  bay,  or  in  or  upon  any  island,  creek,  landing-place, 
bank,  or  other  place  within  the  said  bay  or  headland,  into 
any  ship,  vessel,  lighter,  boat,  or  bottom  any  goods,  wares, 
or  merchandise  whatsoever  to  be  transported  or  carried  into 
any  other  country,  province,  or  place  whatsoever,  or  into 
any  other  part  of  the  said  Province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay,  in  New  England;  or  to  take  up,  discharge,  or  lay  on 
land,  or  cause  or  procure  to  be  taken  up,  discharged,  or  laid 
on  land,  within  the  said  town,  or  in  or  upon  any  of  the  places 
aforesaid,  out  of  any  boat,  lighter,  ship,  vessel,  or  bottom 
any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  whatsoever,  to  be  brought 
from  any  other  country,  province  or  place,  or  any  other 
part  of  the  said  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New 
England,  upon  pain  of  forfeiture  of  the  said  goods,  wares, 
and  merchandise,  and  of  the  said  boat,  lighter,  ship,  vessel, 
or  other  bottom  into  which  the  same  shall  be  put,  or  out  of 
which  the  same  shall  be  taken,  and  of  the  guns,  ammunition, 
tackle,  furniture,  and  stores  in  or  belonging  to  the  same ; 
and  if  any  such  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  shall  within 
the  said  town,  or  in  the  places  aforesaid,  be  laden  or  taken 
in  from  the  shore,  into  any  barge,  hoy,  lighter,  wherry,  or 
boat  to  be  carried  on  board  any  ship  or  vessel  outward- 
bound  to  any  other  country  or  province,  or  other  part  of 
said  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England,  or  be 
laden  or  taken  into  such  barge,  hoy,  lighter,  wherry,  or  out 
of  any  ship  or  vessel  coming  and  arriving  from  any  other 
country  or  province,  or  other  part  of  the  said  Province  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England,  such  barge,  hoy, 
lighter,  wherry,  or  boat,  shall  be  forfeited  and  lost. 

"And  be  it *  further  enacted,  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  if  any  wharfinger  or  keeper  of  any  wharf,  crane,  or  quay, 
or  their  servants,  or  any  of  them,  shall  take  up  or  land,  or 
knowingly  suffer  to  be  taken  up  or  landed,  or  shall  ship  off, 
"or  suffer  to  be  shipped  off,  at  or  from  any  quay  of  the  afore 
said  wharfs,  cranes,  or  quays  any  such  goods,  wares,  or  mer 
chandise  ;  in  every  such  case,  all  and  every  such  wharfingers, 
and  keeper,  of  such  wharf,  crane,  or  quay,  and  every  person 
whatsoever,  who  shall  be  assisting  or  otherwise  concerned 
in  the  shipping,  or  in  the  loading  or  putting  on  board  any 
boat  or  other  vessel,  for  that  purpose,  or  in  the  unshipping 
such  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise,  or  to  whose  hands  the 
same  shall  knowingly  come  after  the  loading,  shipping,  or 
unshipping  thereof,  shall  forfeit  and  lose  treble  the  value 
thereof,  to  be  computed  at  the  highest  price  which  such  goods, 
wares,  and  merchandise  shall  bear  at  the  place  where  such 
offence  shall  be  committed  at  the  time  when  the  same  shall 
be  so  committed,  together  with  the  vessel  and  boats,  and  all 
horses,  cattle,  and  carriages  whatsoever  made  use  of  in  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  109 

shipping,  unshipping,  lading,  removing,  carriage,  or  convey 
ance  of  any  of  the  aforesaid  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise. 

"Provided  always,  That  nothing  in  the  act  contained  shall 
extend,  or  be  construed  to  extend,  to  any  military  or  other 
stores  for  his  Majesty's  use,  or  to  the  ships  or  vessels  whereon 
the  same  shall  be  laden,  which  shall  be  commissioned  by  and 
in  the  immediate  pay  of  his  Majesty,  his  heirs  and  succes 
sors  ;  nor  to  any  fuel  or  victual  brought  coastways  from  any 
part  of  the  continent  of  North  America  for  the  necessary  use 
and  sustenance  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  town  of  Bos 
ton  ;  provided  the  vessel  wherein  the  same  are  to  be  carried, 
shall  be  duly  furnished  with  a  cocket  and  let-pass  after 
having  been  duly  searched  by  the  proper  officers  of  his 
Majesty's  customs  at  Marblehead,  in  the  port  of  Salem,  in 
the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay ;  and  the  same  officers  of 
his  Majesty's  customs  be  also  put  on  board  the  said  vessel, 
who  is  hereby  authorized  to  go  on  board  and  proceed  with 
the  said  vessel,  together  with  a  sufficient  number  of  persons 
properly  armed  for  his  defence,  to  the  said  town  or  harbor  of 
Boston ;  nor  to  any  ships  or  vessels  which  may  happen  to  be 
within  the  said  harbor  of  Boston  on  or  before  the  first  day 
of  June,  1774,  and  may  have  either  laden  or  taken  on  board, 
or  be  there  with  intent  to  load  or  take  on  board,  or  to  land 
or  discharge,  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise,  provided  the 
said  ships  and  vessels  do  depart  the  said  harbor  within  four 
teen  days  after  the  first  day  of  June,  1774." 

The  Parliamentary  committee  relate  the  particulars  of 
"a  most  inhuman  act  of  violence"  committed  by  a  mob, 
upon  John  Malcolm,  a  revenue  officer,  who  had  made  a 
seizure  of  a  vessel  in  the  port  of  Falmouth,  in  Casco  Bay. 
The  mob  doubtless  acted  very  brutally ;  but  the  committee 
say  that  it  was  composed  entirely  of  the  lower  orders,  and 
that  Malcolm  had  indiscreetly  at  other  times  given  provo 
cation  to  the  people.  He  was  tarred  and  feathered,  and 
severely  beaten. 

On  the  1st  of  February,  1774,  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  Massachusetts  required  the  Chief  Justice,  Oliver,  and  the 
four  Superior  Court  judges  to  declare  "whether  they  would 
receive  the  grants  of  Assembly  for  their  salaries,  or  accept 
their  support  from  the  Crown.'"  The  four  judges  consented 
to  receive  their  salaries  from  the  Province ;  but  the  Chief 
Justice  stated  that  he  would  continue  to  "accept  his  support 
from  the  Crown."  On  this  statement  the  Assembly  remon 
strated  to  the  Governor  and  declared  Oliver  to  be  a  public 
enemy.  Failing  to  procure  his  removal,  they  voted  to  ad 
journ  the  court,  which  by  law  was  to  be  held  on  the  15th  of 
February,  to  the  22d  of  that  month,  to  which  the  Governor 
refused  his  consent. 

On  the  17th  June,  1774,  the  House  of  Representatives,  as 
has  been  noticed  in  the  summary  of  the  lords'  report,  ap- 


110  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

pointed  the  "Honorable  James  Bowdoin,  Esq.,  the  Honor 
able  Thomas  Gushing,  Esq.,  Mr.  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams, 
and  Robert  Treat  Paine,  Esquires, "  a  committee  to  meet  the 
committees  or  delegates  from  other  Colonies,  at  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  or  any  other  place  that  might  be  deemed  more 
suitable,  on  the  1st  of  September,  "  to  consult  upon  the  pres 
ent  state  of  the  Colonies,  and  the  miseries  to  which  they 
are  and  must  be  reduced  by  the  operation  of  certain  acts 
of  Parliament  respecting  America;  and  to  deliberate  and 
determine  upon  wise  and  proper  measures  to  be  by  them 
recommended  to  all  the  Colonies,  for  the  recovery  and  es 
tablishment  of  their  just  rights  and  liberties,  civil  and  relig 
ious,  and  the  restoration  of  union  and  harmony  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies,  most  devoutly  desired  by  all 
good  men." 
These  proceedings  are  as  follows: 


"The  late  Honorable  House  of  Representatives  of  this 
Province  having  finished  all  the  ordinary  public  business  of 
importance  that  had  been  before  them  on  Friday,  June  17, 
1774,  came  into  the  following  resolutions, — present  129  mem 
bers,  and  only  12  dissentients,  viz. : 

"In  the  House  of  Representatives,  June  17,  1774. 

"  This  House  having  duly  considered,  and  being  deeply  af 
fected  with,  the  unhappy  differences  which  have  long  sub 
sisted  and  are  increasing  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
American  Colonies,  do  resolve  that  a  meeting  of  the  com 
mittees  from  the  several  Colonies  on  this  continent  is  highly 
expedient  and  necessary  to  consult  upon  the  present  state  of 
the  Colonies,  and  the  miseries  to  which  they  are  and  must 
be  reduced  by  the  operation  of  certain  acts  of  Parliament 
respecting  America ;  and  to  deliberate  and  determine  upon 
wise  and  proper  measures  to  be  by  them  recommended  to 
all  the  Colonies,  for  the  recovery  and  establishment  of  their 
just  rights  and  liberties,  civil  and  religious,  and  the  resto 
ration  of  union  and  harmony  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
Colonies,  most  ardently  desired  by  all  good  men. 

"  Therefore  resolved,  That  the  Honorable  James  Bowdoin, 
Esq.,  the  Honorable  Thomas  Gushing,  Esq.,  Mr.  Samuel 
Adams,  John  Adams,  and  Robert  Treat  Paine,  Esquires,  be 
and  they  are  hereby  appointed  a  committee  on  the  part  of 
this  Province  for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  any  three  of  whom 
to  be  a  quorum  to  meet  such  committees  or  delegates  from 
the  other  Colonies  as  have  been  or  may  be  appointed,  either 
by  their  respective  Houses  of  Burgesses  or  Representatives, 
or  by  convention,  or  by  the  committees  of  correspondence 
appointed  by  the  respective  Houses  of  Assembly,  to  meet  in 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  Ill 

the  city  of  Philadelphia,  or  any  other  place  that  shall  be 
judged  most  suitable  by  the  committee,  on  the  1st  day  of 
September  next ;  and  that  the  speaker  of  the  House  be  di 
rected,  in  a  letter  to  the  Houses  of  Burgesses  or  Representa 
tives,  in  the  several  Colonies,  to  inform  them  of  the  sub 
stance  of  these  resolves. 

"  And  whereas,  this  House  did  resolve  that  there  be  paid 
to  said  committee  out  of  the  public  treasury  the  sum  of  five 
hundred  pounds,  to  enable  them  to  discharge  the  important 
trust  to  which  they  are  appointed,  they  upon  their  return 
to  be  accountable  for  the  same. 

"  And  said  resolve  was  sent  up  to  the  honorable  board  for 
their  concurrence,  who  accordingly  concurred  in  the  resolve 
of  the  House;  but  his  Excellency  the  Governor  declined 
his  consent  to  the  same. 

"  Wherefore  this  House  would  recommend,  and  they  do  ac 
cordingly  hereby  recommend,  to  the  several  towns  and  dis 
tricts  within  the  Province,  that  each  town  and  district 
raise,  collect,  and  pay  to  the  Honorable  Thomas  Gushing, 
Esquire,  of  Boston,  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds  by  the 
15th  day  of  August  next,  agreeable  to  a  list  herewith  exhib 
ited,  being  each  town  and  district's  proportion  of  said  sum, 
according  to  the  last  Province  tax,  to  enable  them  to  dis 
charge  the  important  trust  to  which  they  are  appointed, 
they  upon  their  return  to  be  accountable  for  the  same." 

On  the  same  day  the  House  strongly  recommended  "To 
the  inhabitants  or  the  Province,  that  they  renounce  alto- 

§  ether  the  consumption  of  India  teas,  and,  as  far  as  in  them 
es,  discontinue  the  use  of  all  goods  and  manufactures  what 
ever  that  shall  be  imported  from  the  East  Indies  and  Great 
Britain,  until  the  public  grievances  of  America  shall  be  rad 
ically  and  totally  redressed.  And  it  is  also  further  recom 
mended  to  all,  that  they  give  all  possible  encouragement  to 
the  manufactures  of  America." 

When  these  proceedings  became  known  to  the  Governor, 
Gage,  he  sent  his  secretary  to  acquaint  the  two  Houses,  it  was 
his  pleasure  that  the  General  Assembly  should  be  dissolved. 
Finding  the  door  of  the  Representatives  Chamber  locked, 
the  secretary  sent  the  messenger  to  inform  the  speaker  that 
he  was  there  ready  to  deliver  a  message  from  the  Governor, 
and  to  desire  he  might  be  admitted  to  deliver  it.  "The  mes 
senger  returned  and  said  he  had  acquainted  the  speaker 
therewith,  who  mentioned  it  to  the  House,  and  their  orders 
were  to  keep  the  door  fast." 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


ABOLITION  OF  THE  CHARTER. 

MAY  20,  1774,  the  act  of  Parliament  "for  Better  Regu 
lating  the  Government  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay"  was  passed.  It  revoked  the  privilege  granted  by  the 
Charter  of  William  and  Mary,  of  allowing  the  counsellors  to 
be  elected  by  the  General  Court,  or  Assembly,  and  provides 
that  after  the  1st  day  of  July,  1774,  they  be  appointed  by 
the  sovereign,  to  hold  their  places  during  the  pleasure  of  his 
Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors.  It  conferred  upon  the 
G9vernor  the  right  to  nominate  and  appoint,  and  to  remove, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Council,  all  judges  of  the  Inferior 
Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  courts  of  O^rer  and  Terminer,  the 
attorney-general,  provosts,  marshals,  justices  of  the  peace, 
and  other  officers  to  the  Council  or  courts  of  justice  belong 
ing.  The  Governor  was  authorized  to  remove  and  appoint 
sheriffs ;  the  Governor  and  Council  could  appoint  the  judges 
of  the  Superior  Court,  including  the  Chief  Justice,  who  were 
removable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  King.  The  act  prohibits 
the  calling  of  public  meetings  by  the  select-men,  or  by  the 
freeholders,  without  the  consent  of  the  Governor  in  writing. 
The  avowed  object  of  this  prohibition  was  to  prevent  such 
meetings,  because  the  people  are  "  misled  to  treat  upon  mat 
ters  of  the  most  general  concern,  and  to  pass  many  danger 
ous  and  unwarrantable  resolves."  Meetings  of  the  people 
were  only  permitted,  by  the  act,  for  the  election  of  officers, 
and  all  discussion  or  politics  was  forbidden.  The  act  abol 
ished  the  practice  of  electing  jurors  by  the  freeholders  in 
their  town  meetings,  and  made  it  the  duty  of  the  sheriff 
(himself  appointed  and  removable  by  the  Governor)  to  make 
out  the  list;  and  the  venire  for  summoning  the  jury  was  to 
be  directed  to  the  sheriff,  instead  of  the  constable  or  other 
officer. 

TO  BE  SENT  BEYOND  THE  SEA  FOR  TRIAL. 

"  The  Act  for  the  Impartial  Administration  of  Justice  in 
the  Cases  of  Persons  Questioned  for  any  Act  done  by  Them 
in  execution  of  the  Law,  or  for  the  Suppression  of  Riots  and 
Tumults  in  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  Eng 
land"  was  approved  on  the  same  day,  May  *20th,  with  the 
foregoing  act  for  abolishing  the  Charter,  and,  indeed,  it  was 
part  and  parcel  of  the  same  arbitrary  and  despotic  policy. 
It  provides  ' k  that,  if  any  inquisition  or  indictment  shall  be 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  113 

found,  or  if  any  appeal  shall  be  sued  or  preferred  against 
any  person,  for  murder,  or  other  capital  offence,  in  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  it  shall  appear  by  in 
formation  given  upon  oath  to  the  Governor/'  that  the  fact 
was  committed  by  the  person  thus  indicted  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duty  as  a  magistrate  or  revenue  officer,  or  in  aid  of 
these  officers  in  execution  of  the  laws  or  in  the  suppression 
of  riots;  "and  if  it  shall  also  appear,  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  said  Governor,"  "  that  an  indifferent  trial  cannot  be  had 
within  the  said  Province,''  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Council,  that  the  inquisition,  indictment,  or  appeal  shall 
be  tried  in  some  other  of  his  Majesty's  Colonies  or  in  Great 
Britain.  In  all  such  cases  where  magistrates  or  officers  are 
indicted  for  murder,  they  are  nevertheless  entitled  to  bail, 
any  law  or  usage  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Wit 
nesses  for  the  parties  indicted,  as  well  as  for  the  prosecution, 
to  be  paid  reasonable  expenses  for  attendance  on  the  dis 
tant  court  to  which  the  trial  may  be  removed. 

The  main  features  of  these  important  acts  of  Parlia 
ment,  for  abolishing  the  Charter  of  Massachusetts,  and  for 
transporting  certain  offenders  beyond  the  sea  or  to  another 
Colony  for  trial,  are  herewith  annexed,  as  follows : 


ACT  ABOLISHING  THE  CHARTER  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

"Anno  Decimo- quarto  Georgii  III.,  Regis.  An  Act  for 
the  Better  Regulating  the  Government  of  the  Province  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England. 

"  Approved  Friday,  May  20,  1774. 

"  Whereas,  by  letters  patent  under  the  great  seal  of  Eng 
land,  made  in  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  their  late  Majes 
ties  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  uniting,  erecting,  and 
incorporating  the  several  Colonial  territories  and  tracts  of 
land  therein  mentioned  into  one  real  Province  by  the  name 
their  Majesty's  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New 
England;  whereby  it  was,  amongst  other  things,  ordained 
and  established  that  the  Governor  of  the  said  Province 
should  from  thenceforth  be  appointed  and  commissioned,  by 
their  Majesties,  their  heirs  and  successors, — it  was,  however, 
granted  and  ordained  that  from  the  expiration  of  the  term 
for  and  during  which  the  eight  and  twenty  persons  named 
in  the  said  letters  patent  were  appointed  to  be  the  first 
counsellors  or  assistants  to  the  Governor  of  the  said  Prov 
ince  for  the  time  being,  the  aforesaid  number  of  eight  and 
twenty  counsellors  or  assistants  should  yearly  once  in 
every  year  forever  thereafter  be  by  the  general  court  or  As 
sembly  newly  chosen;  and  whereas,  the  said  method  of 
electing  such  counsellors  or  assistants  to  be  vested  with  the 
several  powers,  authorities,  and  privileges  therein  men- 


114  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

tioned,  although  conformable  to  the  practice  heretofore  used 
in  such  of  the  Colonies  thereby  united,  in  which  the  ap 
pointment  of  the  respective  Governors  had  been  vested  in 
the  general  courts  or  Assemblies  of  the  said  Colonies,  hath 
by  repeated  experiences  been  found  to  be  extremely  ill- 
adapted  to  the  plan  of  government  established  in  the  Prov 
ince  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  by  the  said  letters  patent  herein 
before  mentioned,  and  hath  been  so  far  from  contributing 
to  the  attainment  of  the  good  end  and  purposes  thereby  in 
tended,  and  to  the  promoting  of  the  internal  welfare,  peace, 
and  good  government  of  the  said  Province,  or  to  the  main 
tenance  of  the  just  subordination  to  and  conformity  with 
the  laws  of  Great  Britain,  that  the  manner  of  exercising  the 
powers,  authorities,  and  privileges  aforesaid  by  the  persons 
so  annually  elected,  hath  for  some  time  past  been  such  as 
had  the  most  manifest  tendency  to  obstruct  and  in  great 
measure  defeat  the  execution  of  the  laws,  etc. 

"  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  King's  most  excellent  Maj 
esty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords,  spirit 
ual  and  temporal,  and  commons  in  this  present  Parliament 
assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  from  and 
after  the  first  day  of  August,  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  seventy-four,  so  much  of  the  charter  granted  by  their 
Majesties 'King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  to  the  inhabi 
tants  of  the  said  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New 
England,  and  all  and  every  clause,  matter,  and  thing  there 
in  contained  which  relates  to  the  time  and  manner  of  elect 
ing  the  assistants  or  counsellors  for  the  said  Province,  be 
revoked,  and  is  hereby  revoked  and  made  void  and  of  none 
effect ;  and  that  the  offices  of  all  counsellors  and  assistants 
elected  and  appointed  in  pursuance  thereof  shall  from 
thenceforth  cease  and  determine ;  and  that  from  and  after 
the  said  first  day  of  August,  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  seventy-four,  the  Council  or  court  of  assistants  of  the 
said  Province,  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  composed  of  such 
of  the  inhabitants  or  proprietors  of  lands  within  the  same 
as  shah1  be  thereunto  nominated  and  appointed  by  his  Ma 
jesty,  his  heirs,  and  successors,  from  time  to  time  by 
warrant  under  his  or  their  signet  or  sign  manual,  and  with 
the  advice  of  the  Privy  Council  agreeable  to  the  practice 
now  used  in  respect  to  the  appointment  of  counsellors  in 
such  of  his  Majesty's  other  Colonies  in  America  the  Gov 
ernors  whereof  are  appointed  by  commission  under  the 
great  seal  of  Great  Britain;  provided  that  the  number  of 
the  said  assistants  or  counsellors,  shall  not  at  any  one  time 
exceed  thirty-six  nor  be  less  than  twelve. 

"And  it  is  hereby  further  enacted,  That  the  said  assist 
ants  or  counsellors  so  to  be  appointed  as  aforesaid,  shall 
hold  their  offices  respectively  for  and  during  the  pleasure  of 
his  Majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors ;  and  shall  have  and  en- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THIS  REPUBLIC.  115 

joy  all  the  powers,  privileges,  and  immunities  at  present 
held,  exercised,  and  enjoyed  by  the  assistants  or  counsellors 
of  the  said  Province  constituted  and  elected  from  time  to 
time  under  the  said  charter  (except  as  hereinafter  excepted) ; 
and  shall  also,  upon  their  admission  into  the  said  Council, 
and  before  they  enter  upon  the  execution  of  their  offices, 
respectively  take  the  oaths  and  make,  repeat,  and  subscribe 
the  declarations  required,  as  well  by  the  said  charter  as  by 
any  law  or  laws  of  the  said  Province  now  in  force  to  be 
taken  by  the  assistants  or  counsellors  who  have  been  so 
elected  and  constituted  as  aforesaid. 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  July,  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-four,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful 
for  his  Majesty's  Governor,  for  the  time  being,  "of  the  said 
Province,  or,  in  his  absence,  for  the  Lieutenant-governor,  to 
nominate  and  appoint  under  the  seal  of  the  Province,  from 
time  to  time,  and  also  to  remove  without  the  consent  of  the 
Council,  all  judges  of  the  Inferior  Courts  of  Common  Pleas, 
commissioners  of  Over  and  Terminer,  the  attorney -general, 
provosts,  marshals,  justices  of  the  peace,  and  other  officers 
to  the  Council  or  courts  of  justice  belonging;  and  that  all 
judges  of  the  Inferior  Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  commis 
sioners  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  the  attorney-general,  pro 
vosts,  marshals,  justices,  and  other  officers  so  appointed  by 
the  Governor,  or  in  his  absence  by  the  Lieutenant-governor 
alone,  shall  and  may  have,  hold,  and  exercise  their  said 
offices,  powers,  and  authorities  as  fully  and  completely  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  as  any  judges  of  the  Inferior  Courts 
of  Common  Pleas,  commissioners  of  Oyer  and  Terminer, 
attorney-general,  provosts,  marshals,  or  other  officers,  have 
or  might  have  done  heretofore  under  the  said  letters  patent, 
in  the  third  reign  of  their  late  Majesties  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary;  any  law,  statute,  or  usage  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

"Provided  always,  and  be  it  enacted,  That  nothing  herein 
contained  shall  extend,  or  be  construed  to  extend,  to  annul 
or  make  void  the  commission  granted  before  the  said  first 
day  of  July,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-four, 
to  any  judges  of  the  Inferior  Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  com 
missioners  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  the  attorney-general,  pro 
vosts,  marshals,  justices  of  the  peace,  or  other  officers ;  but 
that  they  may  hold  and  exercise  the  same  as  if  this  act  had 
never  been  made,  until  the  same  shall  be  determined  by 
death,  removal  by  the  Governor,  or  other  avoidance  as  the 
case  may  happen. 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  from  and  after  the  said  first  day  of  July,  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-four,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful 
for  his  Majesty's  Governor,  or  in  his  absence  for  the  Lieu- 


116  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

tenant-governor,  for  the  time  being,  of  the  said  Province, 
from  time  to  time,  to  nominate  and  appoint  the  sheriffs 
without  the  consent  of  the  council,  and  to  remove  such  sher 
iffs  with  such  consent  and  not  otherwise. 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  upon  every  vacancy  of  the  offices  of  Chief  Justice  and 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  said  Province,  from  and 
after  the  said  first  day  of  July,  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  seventy- four,  the  Governor,  for  the  time  being,  or  in  his 
absence  the  Lieutenant-governor,  without  the  consent  of  the 
Council,  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  nominate  and 
appoint  the  persons  to  succeed  to  the  said  officers,  who  shall 
hold  their  commissions  during  the  pleasure  of  his  Majesty, 
his  heirs  and  successors ;  and  that  neither  the  Chief  Justice 
and  judges  appointed  before  the  said  first  day  of  July,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-four,  nor  those  who 
shall  hereafter  be  appointed  pursuant  to  this  act  shall  be 
removed  unless  by  the  order  of  his  Majesty,  his  heirs  or 
successors,  under  his  or  their  sign  manual. 

"Be  it  enacted,  That  from  and  after  the  said  first  day  of 
August,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-four,  no 
meeting  shall  be  called  by  the  select-men,  or  at  the  request 
of  any  number  of  freeholders  of  any  township,  district,  or 
precinct,  without  the  leave  of  the  Governor,  or  in  his  ab 
sence  of  the  Lieutenant-governor,  in  writing,  expressing  the 
special  business  of  the  said  meetings  first  had  and  obtained, 
except  the  annual  meetings  in  the  months  of  March  or  May 
for  the  choice  of  select-men,  constables,  and  other  officers, 
or  except  for  the  choice  of  persons  to  fill  up  the  offices  afore 
said,  on  the  death  or  removal  of  any  of  the  persons  first 
elected  to  such  offices,  and  also  except  any  meeting  for  the 
election  of  a  representative  or  representatives  in  the  general 
court,  and  that  no  other  matter  shall  be  treated  of  at  such 
meetings,  except  the  election  of  their  aforesaid  officers  or 
representatives,  nor  at  any  other  meeting  except  the  busi 
ness  expressed  in  the  leave  given  by  the  Governor,  or,  in  his 
absence,  by  the  Lieutenant-governor. 

"And  whereas,  the  method  at  present  used  in  the  Prov 
ince  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  America,  of  electing  persons 
to  serve  on  grand  juries  and  other  juries  by  the  freeholders 
and  inhabitants  of  the  several  towns,  affords  occasion  for 
many  evil  practices,  and  tends  to  pervert  the  free  and 
impartial  administration  of  justice;  for  remedy  whereof, 
Be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  from 
and  after  the  respective  times  appointed  for  the  holding  of 
the  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  in  the  several  counties 
within  the  said  Province,  next  after  the  month  of  September, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-four,  the  jurors  to 
serve  at  the  Superior  Courts  of  Judicature,  Courts  of  Assize, 
General  Gaol  Delivery,  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  and 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPURLIG.  117 

Inferior  Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  in  the  several  counties 
within  the  said  Province,  shall  not  be  elected,  nominated,  or 
appointed  by  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  several 
towns  within  the  said  respective  counties,  nor  summoned  or 
returned  by  the  constables  of  the  said  towns ;  but  that,  from 
thenceforth,  the  jurors  to  serve  at  the  Superior  Courts  of 
Judicature,  Courts  of  Assize,  General  Gaol  Delivery,  General 
Sessions  of  the  Peace,  and  Inferior  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
within  the  said  Province,  shall  be  summoned  and  returned 
by  the  sheriffs  of  the  respective  counties  within  the  said 
Province ;  and  all  writs  of  venire  facias  to  be  issued  lor  the 
return  of  jurors  to  serve  at  the  said  courts  shall  be  directed 
to  the  sheriffs  of  the  said  counties  respectively,  any  law, 
custom,  or  usage  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 


ACT  FOR  SENDING  CRIMINALS  OUT  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  FOR 
TRIAL. 

1 '  Anno  Decimo  Quarto  Georgii  III.  Eegis.  An  Act  for  the 
Impartial  Administration  of  Justice  in  the  Cases  of  Persons 
Questioned  for  any  Acts  Done  by  Them  in  Execution  of  the 
Law,  or  for  the  Suppression  of  Riots  and  Tumults,  in  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England." 

"Approved  Friday,  May  20,  1774. 

"Whereas,  in  his  Majesty's  Province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  in  New  England,  an  attempt  has  lately  been  made  to 
throw  off  the  authority  of  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain 
over  the  said  Province,  and  an  actual  and  avowed  resistance 
by  open  force  to  the  execution  of  certain  acts  of  Parliament, 
hath  been  suffered  to  take  place  uncontrolled  and  unpun 
ished,  in  defiance  of  his  Majesty's  authority,  and  to  the  utter 
subversion  of  all  lawful  government;  and  whereas,  in  the 
present  disordered  state  of  the  said  Province,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  general  welfare  thereof,  and  to 
the  re-establishment  of  lawful  authority  throughout  the  same, 
that  neither  the  magistrates  acting  in  support  of  the  laws, 
nor  any  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  aiding  and  assisting  them 
therein  or  in  the  suppression  of  riots  and  tumults  raised  in 
opposition  to  the  execution  of  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this 
realm,  should  be  discouraged  from  the  proper  discharge  of 
their  duty  by  an  apprehension  that,  in  case  of  their  being 
questioned  for  any  acts  done  therein,  they  may  be  liable  to 
be  brought  to  trial  for  the  same  before  persons  who  do  not 
acknowledge  the  validity  of  the  laws,  in  the  execution 
whereof,  or  the  authority  of  the  magistrate  in  the  support 
of  whom  such  acts  had  been  done:  in  order  therefore  to 
remove  every  such  discouragement  from  the  minds  of  his 
Majesty's  subjects,  and  to  induce  them  upon  all  proper  oc 
casions  to  exert  themselves  in  support  of  the  public  peace  of 


118  THE  BIKTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

the  Province,  and  of  the  authority  of  the  King  and  Parlia 
ment  of  Great  Britain  over  the  same ;  Be  it  enacted  by  the 
King's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  Commons, 
in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  authority  of 
the  same,  That  if  any  inquisition  or  indictment  shall  be 
found,  or  if  any  appeal  shall  be  sued  or  preferred  against 
any  person  for  murder  or  other  capital  offence  in  the  Prov 
ince  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  it  shall  appear  by  infor 
mation  given  upon  oath  to  the  Governor,  or  in  his  absence 
to  the  Lieutenant-governor  of  the  said  Province,  that  the  fact 
was  committed  by  the  person  against  whom  such  inquisition 
or  indictment  shall  be  found,  or  against  whom  such  appeal 
shall  be  sued  or  preferred  as  aforesaid,  either  in  the  execu 
tion  of  his  duty  as  a  magistrate  for  the  suppression  of  riots, 
or  in  support  of  the  laws  of  revenue,  or  in  acting  in  his  duty 
as  an  officer  of  revenue,  or  hi  acting  under  the  direction  and 
order  of  anv  magistrate  for  the  suppression  of  riots,  or 
for  the  carrying  into  effect  the  laws  of  the  revenue,  or  in 
aiding  and  assisting  in  any  of  the  cases  aforesaid ;  and  if  it 
shall  so  appear  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  said  Governor,  or 
Lieutenant-governor  respectively,  that  an  indifferent  trial 
cannot  be  had  within  the  said  Province,  in  that  case  it  shall 
and  may  be  lawful  for  the  Governor  or  Lieutenant-gov 
ernor  to  direct,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Council, 
that  the  inquisition,  indictment,  or  appeal  shall  be  tried  in 
some  other  of  his  Majesty's  Colonies  or  in  Great  Britain; 
and  for  that  purpose  to  order  the  person  against  whom, 
such  inquisition  or  indictment  shall  be  found,  or  against 
whom  such  appeal  shall  be  sued  or  preferred,  as  aforesaid, 
to  be  sent  under  sufficient  custody  to  the  place  appointed 
for  his  trial,  or  to  submit  such  person  to  bail,  taking  a  re 
cognizance  (which  the  said  Governor,  or  in  his  absence  the 
Lieutenant-governor  is  hereby  authorized  to  take)  from 
such  person  with  sufficient  sureties  to  be  approved  of  by 
said  Governor,  or  in  his  absence  the  Lieutenant-governor, 
in  such  sums  of  money  as  the  said  Governor,  or  in  his  ab 
sence  the  Lieutenant-governor,  shall  deem  reasonable  for 
the  personal  appearance  of  such  person,  if  the  trial  shall  be 
appointed,  to  be  had  in  any  other  Colony,  before  the  Gov 
ernor,  or  Lieutenant-governor,  or  Commander-in-chief  of 
such  Colony,  and,  if  the  trial  shall  be  appointed  to  be  had 
in  Great  Britain,  then  before  his  Majesty's  Court  of  King's 
Bench,  at  a  time  to  be  mentioned  in  such  recognizance ;  and 
the  Governor,  or  Lieutenant  governor,  or  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  Colony  where  such  trial  shall  be  appointed  to 
be  had,  or  Court  of  King's  Bench  where  the  trial  is  appointed 
to  be  had  in  Great  Britain,  upon  the  appearance  of  such  per 
S9n,  according  to  such  recognizance  or  in  custody,  shall 
either  commit  such  person,  or  admit  him  to  bail  until  such 


THE  mRTPt  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  119 

trial ;  and  which  the  said  Governor  or  Lieutenant  governor, 
or  Commander-in-chief,  and  Court  of  King's  Bench  are 
hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  do. 

"And  to  prevent  a  failure  of  justice  from  the  want  of 
evidence  on  the  trial  of  any  such  inquisition,  indictment,  or 
appeal,  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Governor,  or  in  his 
absence  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  shall,  and  he  is  hereby 
authorized  and  required  to  bind,  in  recognizances  to  his 
Majesty,  all  such  witnesses  as  the  prosecutor  or  person 
against  whom  such  inquisition  or  indictment  shall  be  round, 
or  appeal,  sued  or  preferred,  shall  desire  to  attend  the  trial 
of  the  said  inquisition,  indictment,  or  appeal,  for  their  per 
sonal  appearance  at  the  time  and  place  of  such  trial  to 
give  evidence ;  and  the  said  Governor,  or  in  his  absence  the 
Lieutenant-governor,  shall  thereupon  appoint  a  reasonable 
sum  to  be  allowed  for  the  expenses  of  every  such  witness, 
and  shall  thereupon  give  to  each  witness  a  certificate  in 
writing,  under  his  hand  and  seal,  that  such  witness  has  en 
tered  into  a  recognizance  to  give  evidence,  and  specifying 
the"  sum  allowed  for  his  expenses ;  and  the  collector  and 
collectors  of  the  customs,  or  one  of  them,  within  the  said 
Province,  upon  the  delivery  of  such  certificate  are,  and  is 
hereby,  authorized  and  required  forthwith  to  pay  to  such 
witness  the  sum  specified  therein  for  his  expenses." 

On  the  30th  August  (1774),  the  Superior  Court  met  in 
Boston.  Proclamation  being  made  and  the  list  of  grand 
jurors  being  called,  the  court  appointed  Ezenezer  Hancock 
foreman.  He  refused  to  be  sworn,  and  so  did  all  the  grand 
jurors.  The  petit  jurors  were  then  called;  Bartholomew 
Kneeland  was  appointed  foreman,  when  he,  with  all  the 
petit  jurors,  in  like  manner,  refused  to  be  sworn.  The 
Court  inquired  their  reasons  for  this  refusal;  and  they 
offered  to  read  a  paper,  in  which  they  had  stated  their  rea 
sons  at  length.  The  Court  refused  to  have  the  papers  of  the 
classes  of  jurors  read,  and  desired  each  juror  to  state  his 
reasons.  After  some  conversation  on  this  point,  the  court 
consented  to  read  the  papers,  and  discharged  the  juries. 
The  jurors  thereupon  published  their  reasons  over  their 
signatures,  in  the  newspapers.  The  two  papers  assign  simi 
lar  reasons  for  refusing  to  swear,  viz. : 

44  First.  Because,  Peter  Oliver,  the  Chief  Justice,  had  been 
impeached,  by  the  late  House  of  Representatives,  of  high 
crimes  and  misdemeanors,  and  had  never  been  acquitted, 
but  was  declared  by  the  House  to  be  disqualified  to  act  as 
judge  of  that  court. 

"  Second.  Because,  by  the  late  act  of  Parliament  for  alter 
ing  the  charter  of  the  Province,  the  tenure  of  the  judges 
had  been  made  to  depend  on  the  pleasure  of  the  Crown,  the 
validity  of  which  act  they  would  never  admit. 

*k Third.  Because  three  of  the  judges— viz., Peter  Oliver, 


120  THE  mUTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


Foster  Hutchinson,  and  William  Brown,  Esq'rs  —  'by  taking 
the  oath  of  counsellors  under  the  aforesaid  act,  are  (as  we 
are  informed)  sworn  to  carry  into  execution  all  the  late 
grievous  acts  of  the  British  Parliament,  '  etc. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  REVOLUTIONARY  PROVINCIAL  GOVERNMENTS. 

Middlesex  County,  Massachusetts. 

THE  proceedings  of  a  meeting  of  the  committees  of  every 
town  and  district  in  Middlesex  county,  Massachusetts, 
which  was  held  at  Concord  on  the  30th  and  31st  August, 
1774,  seems  to  have  given  the  first  intimation  of  the  forma 
tion  of  a  revolutionary  government  for  the  Province,  and 
gave  tone  at  the  same  time  to  similar  meetings  throughout 
all  the  Colonies.  The  similar  action  which  took  place  in 
quick  succession  in  the  other  counties  shows  that  the  plan 
was  concerted  by  the  leading  men  of  the  Province,  in  Bos 
ton,  in  advance  of  this  county  meeting. 

The  resolutions  of  this  meeting  begin  by  professing  true 
loyalty  to  King  George;  and  that  "We  by  no  means  intend 
to  withdraw  our  allegiance  from  him ;  but,  while  permitted 
the  free  exercise  of  our  natural  and  charter  rights,  are  re 
solved  to  expend  life  and  treasure  in  his  service." 

The  committee  declare  that  the  Parliament  exercised  a 
power  contrary  to  the  charter  in  passing  the  acts  which 
claim  absolute  supremacy  over  the  Province;  by  the  act  for 
blocking  up  the  port  of  Boston;  by  the  act  entitled  "  An  Act 
for  the  Better  Regulating  the  Government  of  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay;"  and  by  the  "Act  for  the  More  Impar 
tial  Administration  of  Justice"  in  said  Province. 

They  resolve  "  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  body  that  the 
present  act  respecting  the  government  of  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  is  an  artful,  deep-laid  plan  of  oppression 
and  despotism,  and  that  it  requires  great  skill  and  wisdom 
to  counteract  it.  This  wisdom  we  have  endeavored  to  col 
lect  from  the  united  sentiments  of  the  country ;  and  although 
we  are  grieved  that  we  are  obliged  to  mention  anything  that 
may  be  attended  with  such  very  important  consequences  as 
may  now  ensue,  yet  a  sense  of  our  duty  as  men,  as  freemen, 
as  Christian  freemen,  united  in  the  firmest  bonds,  obliges  us 
to  resolve  that  every  civil  officer  now  in  commission  in  this 
Province,  and  acting  in  conformity  to  the  late  act  of  Parlia 
ment,  is  not  an  officer  agreeable  to  our  Charter,  therefore 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  121 

unconstitutional,  and  ought  to  be  opposed  in  the  manner 
hereafter  recommended. 

Accordingly,  the  meeting  resolved  "That  we  will  obey 
all  such  civil  officers  now  in  commission  whose  commis 
sions  were  issued  befere  the  1st  day  of  July,  1774,  and  sup 
port  them  in  the  execution  of  their  offices,  according  to  the 
manner  usual  before  the  late  attempt  to  alter  the  Constitu 
tion  of  this  Province ;  nay,  though  the  Governor  should  at 
tempt  to  revoke  their  commissions ;  but  that  if  any  of  said 
officers  shall  accept  a  commission  under  the  present  plan  of 
arbitrary  government,  or  in  any  way  or  manner  whatever 
assist  the  Governor  or  administration  in  the  assault  now 
making  on  our  rights  and  liberties,  we  will  consider  them  as 
having  forfeited  their  commissions,  and  yield  them  no  obe 
dience." 

In  conformity  with  these  declarations,  the  meeting  re 
solve  not  to  recognize  the  county  judges,  Samuel  Danforth 
and  Joseph  Lee,  nor  to  submit  to  their  rule. 

They  accordingly  declare  that  the  county  courts  must 
cease,  and  that  suits  pending  are  to  remain  in  the  then  pres 
ent  condition  "till  we  know  the  result  of  a  Provincial  and 
Continental  Congress.  They  pledge  themselves  to  support 
all  officers  in  disregarding  the  precepts  of  the  court,  if  one 
should  attempt  to  sit." 

They  resolve,  "  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  body  of  del 
egates  that  a  Provincial  Congress  is  absolutely  necessary  in 
our  present  unhappy  situation." 

"  Voted,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  several  towns  and 
districts  in  the  county,  that  each  appoint  one  or  more  dele 
gates  to  attend  a  Provincial  meeting,  to  be  holden  at  Con 
cord  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  October  next." 

The  proceedings  were  ratified  by  one  hundred  and  forty- 
six  yeas  to  four  nays. 

Suffolk  County. 

The  Suffolk  county  meeting  took  place  on  Tuesday,  the 
6th  of  September,  1774,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Eichard  Wood 
ward,  of  Dedham,  and  by  adjournment  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Yose,  of  Milton,  on  Friday,  the  9th  of  the  same  month.  The 
preamble  is  expressed  in  a  language  of  extreme  bitterness, 
and  breathes  anything  but  a  spirit  of  loyalty. 

It  begins  as  follows : 

"  Whereas  the  power,  but  not  the  justice,  the  vengeance, 
not  the  wisdom,  of  Great  Britain,  which  cf  old  persecuted, 
scourged,  and  excited  [exiled]  our  fugitive  parents  from 
their  native  shores,  now  pursues  us,  their  guiltless  children, 
with  unrelenting  severity.  And  whereas  this  then  savage 
and  uncultivated  desert  was  purchased  by  the  toil  and  treas 
ure,  or  acquired  by  the  blood  and  valor,  of  those  our  vener- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

able  progenitors ;  to  us  they  bequeathed  the  dear-bought  in 
heritance;  to  our  care  and  protection  they  consigned  it;  and 
the  most  sacred  obligations  are  upon  us  to  transmit  the  glo 
rious  purchase,  unfettered  by  power,  unclogged  by  shackles, 
to  our  innocent  and  beloved  offspring,"  etc. 

The  first  resolution,  nevertheless,  acknowledges  George 
the  Third  as  the  rightful  heir  to  the  throne,  and  entitled  to 
the  allegiance  of  the  colonists,  "  agreeable  to  compact." 

The  Suffolk  meeting,  in  their  resolutions,  enumerated  the 
same  acts  of  Parliament  that  the  Middlesex  meeting  com 
plained  of,  as  the  justification  of  their  refusal  to  obey  the 
officers  of  the  provincial  government  who  should  acknowl 
edge  the  validity  of  those  acts.  They  declare,  "  That  no 
obedience  is  due  from  this  Province  to  either  or  any  part  of 
the  acts  above  mentioned ;  but  that  they  be  rejected  as  the 
attempts  of  a  wicked  administration  to  enslave  America." 

After  declaring  that  they  will  obey  no  officer  of  the 
Province  who  acknowledges  the  validity  of  those  acts  of 
Parliament,  they  resolve : 

"  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  collectors  of  taxes,  con 
stables,  and  all  other  officers  who  have  public  money  in  their 
hands  to  retain  the  same,  and  not  to  make  any  payment 
thereof  to  the  Provincial  County  Treasurer  until  the  civil 
government  of  the  Province  is  placed  upon  a  constitutional 
foundation,  or  until  it  shall  otherwise  be  ordered  by  the 
proposed  Provincial  Congress." 

Persons  who  should  accept  seats  at  the  Council  Board 
under  the  late  act  were  denounced  as  "incorrigible  enemies 
to  this  country." 

Other  resolutions  in  the  same  spirit  were  adopted. 

County  of  Cumberland. 

"FALMOUTH,  Sept  22,  1774. 

"  Met  according  to  adjournment,  when  the  committee  pre 
sented  the  following  report,  which,  after  being  read  para 
graph  by  paragraph,  was  unanimously  accepted,  viz. : 

"  We  think  it  the  indispensable  duty  of  every  subject  of 
the  English  Constitution,  for  our  own  sakes,  as  well  as  that 
of  future  generations,  to  use  his  utmost  care  and  endeavor, 
according  to  the  station  he  is  in,  to  preserve  the  same  invio 
late  and  unimpaired ;  for  we  regard  it  not  only  as  the  founda 
tion  of  all  our  civil  rights  and  liberties,  but  as  a  system  of 
government  the  best  calculated  to  promote  the  people's  peace 
and  happiness.  And  we  lament  that  in  the  present  admin 
istration  there  are  men  so  lost  to  all  principles  of  honour, 
equity,  and  justice  as  to  attempt  a  violation  of  the  rights 
which  we  have  long  enjoyed,  and  which,  while  we  profess 
ourselves,  as  we  now  declare  we  do,  allegiant  subjects  to 
George  the  Third,  our  rightful  sovereign,  we  have  a  right 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  123 

still  to  enjoy  entire  and  unmolested ;  and  it  is  a  melancholy 
consideration  that  the  acknowledged  head  of  this  respected 
state  should  be  induced  to  pass  his  sanction  to  such  laws  as 
tend  to  the  subversion  of  that  glorious  freedom  which  pre 
serves  the  greatness  of  the  British  empire,  and  gives  it  repu 
tation  throughout  all  the  nations  of  the  civil  world.  It  is 
too  apparent  that  the  British  Ministry  have  long  been  hatch 
ing  monstrous  acts  to  break  our  Constitution,  and  some  they 
have  at  length  brought  forth. 

"  We  think  the  Colonies  deserve  a  better  treatment  from 
his  Majesty  than  this  which  he  assents  to.  We  are  his  loyal 
subjects,  and  merit  his  regard;  and  cannot  help  thinking 
that,  if  he  would  pursue  his  own  unbiased  judgment,  and  lay 
aside  the  selfish  counsel  of  wicked  and  designing  men,  he 
and  his  subjects  would  be  mutually  happy,  and  provocations 
on  both  sides  cease.  But  since  the  Ministry  have  borne  their 
tyranny  to  such  a  length  as  to  endeavor  to  execute  their 
wicked  designs  by  military  force  in  our  metropolis,  we  fear 
it  is  their  aim  to  introduce  despotic  monarchy.  But  though 
their  tyranny  and  oppression  seem  now  with  hasty  strides 
to  threaten  all  the  Colonies  with  ruin  and  destruction,  we 
hope  no  vengeance  will  affright,  no  wiles  allure,  us  to  give  up 
our  dear-bought  liberty,  that  choicest  boon  of  heaven,  which 
our  fathers  came  into  these  regions  to  enjoy,  and  which  we 
therefore  will  retain  while  life  enables  us  to  struggle  for  its 
blessings. 

"We  believe  our  enemies  supposed  we  must  submit  and 
tamely  give  up  all  our  rights.  It  is  true  a  vigorous  opposi 
tion  will  subject  us  to  many  inconveniences;  but  how  much 
greater  will  our  misery  be  if  we  relinquish  all  we  now  en 
joy  and  lay  our  future  earnings  at  the  mercy  of  despotic 
men?  We  cannot  bear  the  thought ;  distant  posterity  would 
have  cause  to  curse  our  folly,  and  the  rising  generation 
would  justly  execrate  our  memory. 

"We  therefore  recommend  a  manly  opposition  to  those 
cruel  acts,  and  to  every  measure  which  despotism  can  in 
vent  to  'abridge  our  English  liberties;'  and  we  hope  that 
patience  will  possess  our  souls  till  Providence  shall  dissipate 
the  gloomy  cloud  and  restore  to  us  our  former  happy  state. 

"The  late  act  for  regulating  the  government  of  this  Prov 
ince  we  consider  in  particular  as  big  with  mischief  and  de 
struction,  tending  to  the  subversion  of  our  charter  and  our 
Province  laws,  and,  in  its  dire  example,  alarming  to  all  the 
Colonies.  This,  through  the  conduct  of  some  enemies 
among  ourselves,  will  soon  bring  us  into  difficulties,  which 
will  require  some  able  counsel  to  remove.  We  therefore 
recommend  to  each  town  in  this  county,  to  instruct  their 
several  representatives  to  resolve  themselves,  with  the  other 
members  of  the  House  at  their  approaching  session  into  a 
Provincial  Congress  for  this  purpose." 


124  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


Proceedings  of  York  County  Congress. 

"We,  his  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  the  delegates  of  the 
several  towns  of  the  county  of  York,  deputed  to  meet  in 
county  Congress  held  at  Wells  the  16th  day  of  November, 
1774,  truly  professing  ourselves  liege  subjects  of  his  Majes 
ty,  King  George  the  Third,  and  sincere  friends  to  all  our 
fellow-subjects  in  Britain  and  the  Colonies, — for  the  neces 
sary  defence  of  our  liberties  and  privileges,  come  into  the 
following  resolutions : 

"  1.  Resolved,  That  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  the  Province 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  as  well  as  in  the  other  English-Amer 
ican  Colonies,  have  full  right  and  authority  to  tax  them 
selves  and  grant  their  own  moneys  by  their  several  general 
Assemblies,  for  all  such  purposes  and  in  such  manner  as 
they  shall  see  fit ;  and  that  no  other  state,  province,  or  par 
liament  whatever  hath,  or  under  the  present  Constitution 
of  said  Colonies  can  have,  right  or  authority  to  grant  the 
money  of  said  subjects,  or  tax  them  in  any  other  manner 
whatsoever;  and  therefore  that  the  several  acts  of  the  Brit 
ish  Parliament,  made  for  the  express  purpose  and  design, 
not  only  of  raising  a  revenue  to  his  Majesty  by  duties  to  be 
laid  on  goods  landed  in  said  Colonies,  but  establishing  a 
precedent  for  further  illegal  taxation  of  the  people  therein, 
are  unconstitutional,  unjust,  and  oppressive,  and  never 
ought  to  have  force  in  the  Colonies ;  and  all  subsequent  acts 
made  to  enforce  the  same,  more  especially  that  for  blocking 
up  the  port  of  Boston,  are  hostile,  cruel,  and  arbitrary. 

U2.  Resolved,  That  all  civil  officers  within  this  county, 
duly  appointed  by  virtue  of  and  pursuant  to  the  Charter  of 
William  and  Mary-,  ought  to  use  and  exercise  the  several 
powers  and  authorities  to  their  respective  offices  belonging 
agreeble  to  the  laws  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
in  the  same  way  and  manner,  in  every  respect,  intent,  and 
purpose,  as  though  the  said  acts  had  never  been  passed;  and 
that  all  persons  ought  to  aid,  assist,  and  countenance  them 
therein,  and  particularly  that  the  venires  for  jurors  for  the 
several  courts  of  justice  in  this  county  ought  to  be  issued  as 
heretofore  has  been  used  and  accustomed,  agreeable  to  the 
laws  of  the  Province  aforesaid;  and  that  due  obedience 
ought  to  be  had  thereto ;— and  that  a  spirit  of  peace,  friend 
ship,  and  harmony  may  subsist  and  be  cultivated  among 
the  inhabitants  of  said  county,  the  said  Congress  do  recom 
mend  to  them  that  they  produce  no  suit  against  each  other 
unless  on  some  urgent  necessity." 

The  Provincial  Congress  met  at  Salem,  the  7th  day  of 
October,  1774. 

"  The  Honorable  John  Hancock,  Esq.,"  was  chosen  Presi 
dent,  and  Benjamin  Lincoln,  Esq.,  Secretary. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  125 

Among  the  first  proceedings  was  to  send  a  letter,  through 
the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Province,  to  the  Governor, 
respectful  and  dignified  in  terms,  but  earnestly  protesting 
against  the  erection  of  a  fortress  at  the  entrance  of  Boston 
harbor,  and  against  the  presence  of  troops. 

The  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Province  proposed  the 
following  resolution,  which  was  considered  and  adopted, 
and  ordered  to  be  printed  in  the  Boston  newspapers,  and  at 
tested  by  their  secretary : 

"Resolved,  That  the  several  constables  and  collectors  of 
taxes  throughout  the  Province,  who  have  or  shall  have  any 
money  in  their  hands  collected  on  Province  assessments,  be 
advised  not  to  pay  the  same,  or  any  part  thereof,  to  the 
Honorable  Harrison  Gray,  Esq.;  but  that  such  constables 
and  collectors  as  have  or  shall  have  any  county  moneys  in 
their  hands,  take  and  observe  such  orders  and  directions 
touching  the  same  as  shall  be  given  them  by  the  several 
towns  and  districts  by  whom  they  were  chosen.  And  that 
the  sheriffs  and  deputy-sheriffs  of  the  several  counties  in  the 
Province,  who  have  in  their  hands  any  Province  moneys, 
be  also  advised  not  to  pay  the  same  to  the  said  Harrison 
Gray,  Esq. ;  but  that  they  retain  the  same  in  their  hands  re 
spectively  until  the  further  advice  of  a  Provincial  Congress 
or  order  from  a  Constitutional  Assembly  of  this  Province. 
And  that  the  present  assessors  of  the  several  towns  and  dis 
tricts  in  the  Province  be  advised  to  proceed  to  make  assess 
ments  of  the  tax  granted  by  the  great  and  General  Court  of 
the  Province  at  their  last  May  session,  and  that  such  assess 
ments  be  duly  paid,  by  the  persons  assessed,  to  such  person 
or  persons  as  shah1  be  ordered  by  the  said  towns  and  dis 
tricts  respectively.  And  the  Congress  strongly  recommend 
the  payment  of  the  tax  accordingly. " 

The  Congress  appointed  Thursday,  the  15th  of  December, 
"to  be  observed  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving,  to  render  thanks 
to  Almighty  God  for  all  the  blessings  we  enjoy;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  we  think  it  incumbent  on  this  people  to  humble 
themselves  before  God,  on  account  of  their  sins,  for  which 
he  hath  been  pleased,  in  Ms  righteous  judgment,  to  suffer  so 
great  a  calamity  to  befall  us  as  the  present  controversy  be 
tween  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies;  as  also  to  implore 
the  divine  blessing  upon  us,"  etc. 

On  the  24th  of  October,  several  orders  or  resolutions  were 
adopted  with  reference  to  arms  and  ammunition. 

On  the  25th,  the  Congress  adopted  a  preamble  and  resolu 
tions  which  provided  for  the  defence  and  safety  of  the 
Province.  A  Committee  of  Safety  was  provided  for  in  the 
first  resolution,  which  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  govern 
ing  the  Province,  and  the  citizens  and  the  military  were 
called  on  to  obey  its  orders  and  regulations.  The  committee 
were  authorized,  "  whenever  they  shall  judge  it  necessary  for 


126  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

the  safety  and  defence  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province, 
and  their  property,  against  such  person  or  persons  aforesaid, 
—viz. :— such  as  shall  at  any  time  *  attempt  or  enterprise  the 
destruction,  invasion,  detriment,  or  annoyance  of  this  Prov 
ince,'— in  every  such  case  the  committee  was  required  to 
alarm,  muster,  and  cause  to  be  assembled,  with  the  utmost 
expedition,  and  completely  armed,  accoutred,  and  supplied 
with  provisions  sufficient  for  their  support  in  their  march 
to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  such  and  so  many  of  the  militia 
of  this  Province  as  they  shall  judge  necessary  for  the  end 
aforesaid,  and  at  such  place  or  places  as  they  shall  judge 
proper,  and  then  to  discharge  them  as  soon  as  the  safety  of 
the  Province  shall  permit." 

Another  committee  was  appointed  to  act  as  a  commissary 
department.  The  higher  officers  of  the  militia  were  ap 
pointed  by  the  Congress ;  and  the  several  companies  of  the 
militia  were  authorized  to  elect  company  and  field  officers. 

On  the  28th,  the  Congress  elected  Henry  Gardner,  Esq., 
receiver-general,  who  was  authorized  to  receive  and  take 
care  of  all  public  moneys.  The  tax-collectors,  constables, 
and  others  who  held  public  moneys  were  advised  to  pay 
them  into  his  hands,  who  was  authorized  to  receipt  fcr  the 
same. 

Thus  the  Provincial  Congress  established  a  government 
for  Massachusetts,  independent,  to  all  practical  intents,  of  the 
Crown  and  Government  of  Great  Britain. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  this  independent  con 
trol  of  affairs  by  the  people  was  never  surrendered,  but  that 
it  gradually  ripened  into  a  regular  republican  civil  govern 
ment.  The  next  step  in  this  process,  which  will  be  detailed 
in  its  proper  place,  was  to  elect  a  House  of  Kepresentatives 
independent  of  the  Crown  and  Parliament,  by  the  advice 
and  consent  ot  the  Continental  Congress.  This  was  in  May 
and  June,  1775.  This  independent  House  proceeded  to  elect 
the  Council,  as  under  the  Charter ;  and  to  assume  the  reins 
of  Government,  under  the  style  of  the  Territory  of  Maine 
and  the  Territory  of  New  Plymouth.  Thus  was  the  author 
ity  of  Great  Britian  thrown  off,  and  with  it  the  Provincial 
name,  which  was  the  badge  of  that  authority.  And  this 
bold  measure  was  taken  while  a  British  army  was  encamped 
on  Massachusetts  soil. 

November. 

The  Provincial  Congress  reassembled,  according  to  ad 
journment,  on  the  23d  November.  Meantime  the  operation 
of  the  Boston  Port  Bill  had  inflicted  great  injury  upon,  and 
caused  the  most  severe  hardships  to,  the  people  of  the  towns 
of  Boston  and  Charlestown  in  particular,  and  the  Colony  in 
general.  The  trade  of  these  places  with  the  outer  world 
was  annihilated,  and  the  traffic  with  the  interior  nearly  so ; 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  127 

so  that  the  Congress  in  October  had  seriously  debated  the 
propriety  or  necessity  of  removing  the  entire  people  of  the 
town  to  the  country,  in  order  to  save  them  from  starvation. 
But  the  Congress  in  November  presented  the  same  undaunted 
front  to  the  enemy,  as  at  first.  It  adopted  various  measures 
for  arousing,  equipping,  and  rallying  the  people  to  a  defence 
of  their  rights;  and  put  forth  a  noble  address  uto  the  Free 
holders  and  Other  Inhabitants  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  which 
was  well  calculated  to  entourage  the  people  and  inspire  them 
with  patriotic  feeling.  After  a  few  days'  session,  in  which 
much  business  was  transacted,  they  decided  to  dissolve,  or 
adjourn  sine  die  ;  at  the  same  time  calling  upon  the  towns  to 
elect  other  delegates  to  a  new  Congress,  to  meet  in  February, 
1775.  This  dissolution  of  their  body  was  adopted  on  the 
sound  republican  principle,  declared  by  them,  that,  ''Inas 
much  as  many  states  have  been  taught  by  fatal  experience 
that  powers  delegated  by  the  people  for  long  periods  have 
been  abused  to  the  endangering  the  public  rights  and  liber 
ties,  and  this  Congress  having  just  reason  to  suppose  that 
their  constituents,  the  good  people  of  this  Province,  when 
they  appointed  their  present  delegates,  were  not  apprehen 
sive  that  the  business  necessary  to  be  done  would  require 
their  attention  for  any  long  time,"  therefore,  as  above  stated, 
they  resolved  that  "the  Congress  be  dissolved." 

Such  were  the  honorable,  disinterested,  and  patriotic  mo 
tives  that  actuated  the  leading  men  of  Massachusetts. 

February,  1775. 

The  Provincial  Congress  met  at  Cambridge,  Wednesday, 
Feb.  1,  1775.  Their  first  important  measure  was  to  pass  a 
resolve  denouncing  any  one  who  should  "  presume  to  supply 
the  troops  now  stationed  at  Boston,  or  elsewhere  in  said 
Province,  with  timber,  boards,  spars,  pickets,  tent-poles, 
canvas,  bricks,  iron,  wagons,  carts,  carriages,  intrench- 
tng-tools;  or  any  materials  for  making  any  of  the  Carriages 
or  implements  aforesaid ;  with  horses  or  oxen  for  draught ; 
or  any  other  materials  whatever,  that  may  enable  them  to 
annoy,  or  in  any  manner  distress  the  inhabitants;"  and  that 
"he  or  they  shall  be  held  in  the  highest  detestation,  and 
deemed  inveterate  enemies  to  America,  and  ought  to  be 
prevented  and  opposed  by  all  reasonable  means  whatever." 

The  word  "ought,"  in  the  closing  sentence,  coming  from 
the  Provincial  Congress  in  the  then  existing  state  of  affairs, 
with  the  government  of  the  Province  in  their  control,  was 
equivalent  to  an  imperative  command.  But  the  spirit  of  the 
people  jumped  with  the  recommendations  of  the  Congress, 
and  mandatory  language  was  not  necessary  to  the  making 
laws,  or  to  giving  orders. 

A  new  Committee  of  Safety  was,  appointed,  with  John 


128  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Hancock  at  its  head,  and  of  which  Dr.  Joseph  Warren  was 
a  member.  Their  power  as  the  executive  authority  of  the 
Province  was  defined,  and  all  military  officers  and  people 
were  called  on,  in  the  names  of  liberty,  patriotism,  and  the 
public  safety,  to  obey  them.  Their  special  duty  was  to  call 
out  the  militia,  whenever  they  might  think  it  necessary  to 
observe  such  persons  as  might  attempt  to  carry  into  effect 
the  obnoxious  acts  of  Parliament.  On  the  same  day,  the 
Congress  adopted  an  address  to  the  people,  which,  while  it 
contains  the  noblest  sentiments  of  liberty,  refrains  from  any 
profession  of  loyalty  to  the  Crown.  The  following  are  ex 
tracts  : 


Massachusetts  Provincial  Congress. 

1  Thursday,  February  9,  1775. 

"  The  committee  appointed  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  in 
habitants  of  this  Province  having  amended  their  report,  the 
same  was  read,  considered,  and  accepted,  and  ordered  to  be 
attested,  and  added  to  the  pamphlet  directed  to  be  printed 
by  this  Congress,  and  is  as  follovveth,  viz. : 
"  To  the  Inhabitants  cf  Massachusetts  Bay: 

u  Friends  and  Fellow-sufferers : — When  a  people  entitled  to 
that  freedom  which  your  ancestors  have  nobly  preserved,  as 
the  richest  inheritance  of  their  children,  are  invaded  by  the 
hand  of  Oppression,  and  trampled  on  by  the  merciless  feet 
of  Tyranny,  resistance  is  so  far  from  being  criminal,  that  it 
becomes  the  Christian  and  social  duty  of  each  individual. 

1  *  While  you  see  the  lives  of  your  fellow-men  in  other  na 
tions  sported  with  and  destroyed,  and  their  estates  con 
fiscated  by  their  prince,  only  to  gratify  the  caprice,  ambition, 
or  avarice  of  a  tyrant,  you  ought  to  entertain  and  cultivate 
in  your  mind  the  highest  gratitude  to  the  Supreme  Being 
for  his  having  placed  you  under  such  a  form  of  government 
as,  when  duly  administered,  gives  the  meanest  peasant  the 
same  security  in  his  life  and  property  as  his  sovereign  has 
in  his  crown. 

"The  constitution  of  government  secures  to  each  one  sub 
ject  thereto  such  an  entire  property  in  his  inheritance  and 
the  fruit  of  his  industry  that  they  cannot  be  taken  from 
him  without  his  personal  or  representative  consent;  and  as 
the  evidence  of  entire  property  arises  from  the  uncontrol 
lable  power  of  disposing,  when  your  estates  shall  be  brought 
into  such  a  situation  or  under  such  a  form  of  government  as 
that  they  can  be  disposed  of  or  granted  by  persons  who  are 
by  no  means  accountable  to  you  therefor,  you  cease  to  have 
anything  more  than  a  licensed  and  precarious  property  in 
them. 

' '  Though  we  deprecate  a  rupture  with  the  mother-state, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  129 

yet  we  must  still  urge  you  to  every  preparation  for  your 
necessary  defence ;  for  unless  you  exhibit  to  your  enemies 
such  a  firmness  as  shall  convince  them  that  you  are  worthy 
of  that  freedom  your  ancestors  fled  here  to  enjoy,  you  have 
nothing  to  expect  but  the  vilest  and  most  abject  slavery." 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  correspond  with  the  other 
Colonies,  of  which  Hancock,  Samuel  Adams,  and  Elbridge 
Gerry  were  members. 

After  an  adjournment  of  a  month,  the  Congress  met  again 
on  the  22d  March,  and,  in  view  of  the  impending  hostilities, 
began  to  prepare  for  them.  An  elaborate  series  of  Rules  and 
Articles  for  the  Government  of  the  Army  was  adopted,  the 
first  of  which  requires  that  ' '  All  officers  and  soldiers  not 
having  just  impediment,  shall  diligently  frequent  divine 
service  and  sermon,"  in  the  places  where  they  may  be  sta 
tioned.  Although  strict  obedience  to  the  articles  is  "earn 
estly  recommended,"  they  go  so  far  as  to  inflict  the  death 
penalty— a  clear  indication  of  the  import  of  a  Congressional 
recommendation. 


THE  COMMITTEE  OF  SAFETY. 

During  these  proceedings  of  the  Congress,  the  Committee 
of  Safety  was  actively  engaged,  in  its  executive  capacity,  in 
carrying  out  the  orders  of  the  Congress.  All  kinds  of  war 
like  supplies  were  purchased  or  manufactured.  One  fourth 
of  the  militia,  so  early  as  the  23d  February,  were  called  out, 
and  provisions  collected  for  their  sustenance. 


MASSACHUSETTS  DECLARED  BY  PARLIAMENT  TO  BE  IN  RE 
BELLION. 

On  the  7th  February,  1775,  the  House  of  Lords  adopted 
the  joint  address  from  the  Commons  to  the  King,  in  which 
Massachusetts  was  declared  to  be  in  rebellion.  Thanking 
his  Majesty  for  having  communicated  several  papers  relat 
ing  to  America,  the  address  proceeds  to  say  "We  have 
taken  them  into  our  most  serious  consideration,  and  we  find 
that  a  part  of  your  Majesty's  subjects,  in  the  Province  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay,  have  proceeded  so  far  as  to  resist  the 
authority  of  the  supreme  legislature;  that  a  rebellion  at  this 
time  actually  exists  within  the  said  Province ;  and  we  see, 
with  the  utmost  concern,  that  thev  have  been  countenanced 
and  encouraged  by  unlawful  combinations  and  engagements 
entered  into  by  your  Majesty's  subjects  in  several  of  the 
other  Colonies,  to  the  injury  and  oppression  of  many  of  their 
innocent  fellow-subjects  resident  within  the  kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  rest  of  your  Majesty's  dominions.  .  .  . 

"At  the  same  time  we  consider  it  our  indispensable  duty 


130  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

humbly  to  beseech  your  Majesty  that  you  will  take  the  most 
effectual  measures  to  enforce  due  obedience  to  the  laws  and 
authorities  of  the  supreme  legislature ;  and  we  beg  leave,  in 
the  most  solemn  manner,  to  assure  your  Majesty  that  it  is 
our  fixed  resolution,  at  the  hazard  or  our  lives  and  proper 
ties,  to  stand  by  your  Majesty  against  all  rebellious  attempts 
iia  the  maintenance  of  the  just  rights  of  your  Majesty  and 
the  two  Houses  of  Parliament." 

This  address  was  regarded  by  the  Colonists  as  equivalent 
to  a  declaration  of  war. 

Lexington,  Concord,  and  Bunker  Hill  need  not  be  de 
scribed  in  this  brief  history  of  Revolutionary  "  movements." 
The  events  enacted  on  the  19th  April  and  tbe  17th  June  were 
"movements  upon  the  works  of  the  enemy,"  and  speak  for 
themselves. 

On  the  231  April,  four  days  after  the  battles  of  Lexington 
and  Concord,  the  Provincial  Congress  resolved  "  that  30,000 
men  are  necessary  to  be  forthwith  raised  in  the  New  England 
Colonies,"  "and  that  of  that  force  13,600  shall  be  established 
by  this  Colony  without  delay." 

May  16, 1775,  the  Provincial  Congress  took  an  important 
step  for  the  restoration  of  regular  civil  government,  inde 
pendent  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britian.  They  applied  to  the 
Continental  Congress,  sitting  at  Philadelphia,  for  the  advics 
and  consent  of  that  body  to  the  proceeding.  This  consent 
was  accorded,  in  a  resolution  of  Juno  9th,  accompanied  by 
the  suggestion  that,  as  no  obligation  rested  on  the  people  to 
obey  the  acts  of  Parliament  which  abrogated  the  Charter  of 
the  Colony,  the  people  ought  to  elect  a  House  of  Representa 
tives,  and  that  the  House  ought  to  elect  a  Council  in  dis 
regard  of  that  law.  This  suggestion  was  at  once  acted  on, 
and  the  first  House  of  Representatives  thus  constituted  met, 
July  19th,  at  Watertown.  On  the  21st,  the  House  elected  the 
Councillors,  eighteen  in  number,  for  the  territory  of  Massa 
chusetts  Bay;  four  for  the  territory  formerly  called  New 
Plymouth;  three  for  the  territory  formerly  called  the  Prov 
ince  of  Maine,  and  one  Councillor  for  the  territory  lying 
between  the  river  Sagadahock  and  Nova  Scotia.  They  "also 
elected  two  Councillors-at  large.  So  the  Revolutionary 
council  was  composed  of  twenty-eight  members;  and  the 
repudiation  of  the  ancient  loyal  designations  "  Colony  "  and 
"  Province  "  shows  clearly  that  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  expected  and  intended  henceforth  to  remain  inde 
pendent  of  Great  Britain— of  its  Parliament,  at  any  rate,  if 
not  of  the  Crown.  For  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  word 
"territory,"  at  that  time,  had  not  acquired  the  conventional 
signification  in  America  that  it  now  has,  implying  subor 
dination  to  another  power;  or,  if  any  such  meaning  was 
attached  to  it,  the  higher  power  referred  to  was  the  Con 
tinental  Congress,  and  not  the  Parliament  of  England. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  131 

On  the  1st  of  April,  1776,  the  General  Court  of  Massachu 
setts  resolved  to  alter  the  style  of  writs  and  other  legal  pro 
cesses,  and  substituted  "the  people  and  government  of 
Massachusetts  "  for  the  name  of  the  King.  Also  they  ceased 
to  date  official  papers  according  to  the  year  of  the  King's 
reign,  substituting  in  its  place  the  year  of  our  Lord.  ' k  Early 
in  May,  likewise,"  says  Barry,  "an  order  was  passed  and 
published,  by  which  the  people  of  the  several  towns  in  the 
Province  were  advised  to  give  instructions  to  their  respective 
representatives,  to  be  chosen  for  the  following  political  year, 
on  the  subject  of  independence."  "It  is  not  contended," 
continues  Barry,  "  that  this  was  the  first  instance  in  which 
such  a  proposition  was  publicly  made ;  for  North  Carolina 
had,  two  weeks  before,  authorized  her  delegates  to  join  with 
the  other  Colonies  in  declaring  independence;  and  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut  had  indicated  their  inclination  by 
dispensing  with  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  King,  though 
a  month  elapsed  before  the  Connecticut  Assembly  instructed 
their  delegates  to  vote  for  independence." — Barry's  History 
of  Massachusetts,  vol.  3,  page  98. 

The  returns  from  the  town  elections  showed  that  nearly 
the  whole  population  was  ripe  for  independence. 

MASSACHUSETTS  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  ) 

"May  10,  1776.  \ 

"  Resolved,  as  the  opinion  of  this  House,  That  the  inhabi 
tants  of  each  town  in  this  Colony  ought,  in  full  meeting 
warned  for  the  purpose,  to  advise  the  person  or  persons  who 
shall  be  chosen  to  represent  him  in  the  next  General  Court 
whether  that,  if  the  honorable  Congress  should,  for  the 
safety  of  the  said  Colonies,  declare  them  independent  of  the 
kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  they,  the  said  inhabitants,  will 
solemnly  engage,  with  their  lives  and  fortunes,  to  support 
them  in  the  measure. 

"SAMUEL  FREEMAN,  Speaker." 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

It  was  the  fortune  of  New  Hampshire,  for  the  third  of  a 
century  prior  to  the  Revolution,  to  be  under  the  rule  of  wise 
and  conciliatory  governors,  who,  if  they  were  not  too  scru 
pulous  to  enrich  themselves  by  disreputable  and  illegal  acts 
of  extortion  and  peculation,  knew  well,  nevertheless,  the 
arts  of  popularity ;  and  during  that  long  period,  which  in 
other  Colonies  was  a  period  of  strife,  irritation,  and  aliena 
tion  from  the  mother-country,  they  managed  to  preserve  a 
loyal  and  peaceful  temper  among  the  people  of  the  Granite 
Colony.  The  first  of  these  governors,  Benning  Wen^wor^n> 
was  appointed  in  1741 ;  and  in  1766  he  was  permitted  to  re- 


132  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

sign  under  well-grounded  charges  of  extorting  illegal  and 
exorbitant  fees  for  passing  patents  for  lands. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew,  John  Wentworth,  who 
was  equally  prudent  and  politic,  and  not  more  scrupulous 
than  his  uncle.  A  brief  account  of  his  career,  taken  from 
Belknap's  judicious  history  of  New  Hampshire,  will  serve 
the  twofold  purpose  of  accounting  for  the  exceptionally 
pacific  temper  of  the  New  Hampshire  people  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  Revolutionary  events  in  the  adjacent  Colony  of 
Massachusetts,  and  throw  light  upon  the  state  of  morals 
which  ruled  among  the  governing  classes  in  Great  Britain 
at  that  time. 

Unon  the  accession  of  the  nephew,  the  expectation  that 
inquiry  would  be  made  into  the  practices  of  the  uncle  was 
disappointed.  Things  went  on  smoothly  during  the  life 
time  of  the  latter,  who  was  ever  treated  with  respect  and 
consideration ;  and  it  was  understood  that  the  bulk  of  his 
estate,  he  having  no  children,  would  go  to  his  nephew  and 
successor  in  office.  But  at  his  death  a  later  will  was  found, 
by  which  his  estate  was  bequeathed  to  his  young  widow. 
This  will  produced  a  great  commotion  in  the  Wentworth 
family,  and  in  the  Colony.  * '  Antiquated  claims  upon  the 
late  Governor's  estate,"  says  Belknap,  "  were  revived ;  and 
law  suits  were  commenced  which  probably  would  not  have 
been  agitated  if  the  expected  disposition  had  been  made." 
But  the  most  alarming  effect  of  this  unhappy  disappoint 
ment  was  a  question  which  the  Governor  moved  in  Coun 
cil,  "whether  the  reservations  of  five  hundred  acres,  in 
several  townships,  made  by  the  late  governor,  Benning 
Wentworth,  in  the  charter  grants,  conveyed  the  title  to 
him."  The  Council  determined  this  question  in  the  negative. 
The  Governor  then  asked  whether  they  would  advise  him  to 
grant  the  said  tracts  to  such  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  as 
should  settle  and  cultivate  the  same.  To  this  they  gave  their 
assent.  Seven  of  the  Councillors  present  on  this  occasion 
were  the  Governor's  relations.  The  eighth  was  Peter  Levins, 
a  gentleman  of  foreign  extraction,  who  entered  his  dissent. 
He  had  for  several  years  served  as  a  Justice  of  the  Common 
Pleas ;  but  on  the  division  of  the  Province  into  counties,  it 
was  necessary  to  issue  new  commissions.  Finding  him 
self  overlooked  in  the  appointment  of  officers,  and  his  private 
affairs  calling  him  abroad,  he  sailed  for  England,  and  there 
exhibited,  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  articles  of  complaint  against 
the  Governor  and  his  Council. 

"The  first  was  that  the  Governor  and  Council,  without 
any  legal  process  or  the  intervention  of  a  jury,  had  deprived 
the  grantees,  under  the  Crown,  of  their  lands,  on  suggestion 
only,  that  the  conditions  had  not  been  fulfilled. 

*'  The  second  was  that  the  duty  paid  by  foreign  shipping, 
commonly  called  powder-money,  had  not  been  accounted 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THW  REPUBLIC.  133 

for  since  the  year  1741 ;  and  that  the  Council  had  refused  to 
join  with  the  Representatives  in  an  inquiry  into  this  matter 
in  the  year  1768. 

"The  third  was  that  the  Governor  had  moved,  in  Council, 
that  the  lands  reserved  to  the  late  Governor,  in  the  charters 
of  townships,  should  be  regranted  to  himself  through  the 
medium  of  another  person ;  and  that  the  protest  of  the  com 
plainant  against  the  legality  of  this  proceeding  was  rejected. 

' '  The  fourth  was  that,  in  consequence  of  the  opposition 
which  he  was  in  duty  bound  thus  to  make,  he  had  been  in 
juriously  treated,  and  had  received  personal  abuse  from  the 
Governor. 

"The  fifth  was  that,  pending  an  action  in  the  Common 
Pleas,  brought  by  the  Governor,  though  in  other  names,  the 
judges  had  several  times  been  changed,  till  a  question  on  a 
point  of  law  was  determined  in  favor  of  the  Governor. 

"  The  sixth  article  stated  that  the  complainant  expected 
to  prove  several  of  the  above  facts,  by  referring  to  copies  of 
the  Council  records  in  their  lordships'  office;  but  was  sur 
prised  to  find  that  the  Governor  had  disobeyed  his  instruc 
tions  in  not  sending  them. 

"  The  memorial  concluded  with  a  general  charge  of  par 
tiality  arising  from  the  family  connections  of  the  Governor 
and  Council." — Belknap.  . 

The  Governor  and  Council,  having  been  furnished  with 
copies  of  the  charges,  denied  them  severally,  and  gave  their 
explanations  of  the  facts  involved,  with  depositions,  "from 
persons  of  all  ranks  and  professions,  testifying  in  favor  of 
the  Governor." 

Belknap  proceeds  to  relate  that,  "  These  being  laid  before 
the  Lords  of  Trade,  and  the  memorialist  being  heard  in  reply, 
the  board  represented  to  the  King  that  the  complaint  against 
the  Governor  'had  been  fully  verified.'  At  the  same  time 
they  thought  it  their  duty  to  represent,  that  the  reports 
which  they  had  received,  through  different  channels,  of  the 
situation  of  affairs  within  New  Hampshire,  did  all  concur  in 
representing  the  Colony  to  have  been,  since  Mr.  Went  worth's 
appointment,  in  a  state  of  peace  and  prosperity;  that  its 
commerce  had  been  extended,  and  the  number  of  its  inhab 
itants  increased ;  and  that  every  attempt  made  to  excite  the 
people  to  disorder  and  disobedience  had  been,  by  the  firm 
and  temperate  conduct  of  Mr.  Wentworth,  suppressed  and 
restrained." 

The  cause  was  reheard  before  a  committee  of  the  Privy 
Council,  and  their  report  on  it  would  .in  these  days  be  styled 
a  "white-washing  report."  The  main  facts  were  admitted 
to  be  true ;  but  an  attempt  was  made  to  explain  them  away 
and  to  exculpate  the  Governor,  on  various  pretexts  and 
technicalities,  from  all  the  damaging  inferences  to  be  drawn 
from  them;  and,  on  the  whole,  they  conclude  that  there 


134  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

1 '  was  no  foundation  for  any  censure  upon  the  said  Governor 
for  any  of  the  charges  contained  in  the  complaint,  and  that 
the  general  conduct  of  his  administration  had  tended  greatly 
to  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  said  Province." 

"  This  report,"  says  Belknap,  "  was  approved  by  the  King 
in  Counci],  and  the  complaint  was  dismissed.  But  the  Gov 
ernor  was  strictly  enjoined  to  transmit  to  the  Lords  of  Trade 
authentic  copies  of  the  journals  of  the  Council,  as  a  council 
of  state." 

The  candor  and  love  of  official  integrity  which  this  de 
cision  of  the  Privy  Council  and  King  display  can  be  judged 
of  in  the  light  of  the  fact  which  follows,  viz.,  that  Mr.  Levius 
was  immediately  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  doubtless  with  a  view  of  closing  his  mouth  to  further 
charges  against  so  good  a  Governor.  It  was  thought  pru 
dent,  however,  on  mature  consideration,  to  transfer  the  ac 
cuser  to  the  Province  of  Quebec,  where  a  more  lucrative 
office  was  given  him. 

Belknap  further  states  that,  "  When  the  final  issue  of  the 
complaint  was  known  in  New  Hampshire,  a  general  satis 
faction  appeared  among  the  people.  At  the  next  session  of 
the  Assembly,  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  presented  to  the 
Governor  an  address  of  congratulation,  in  the  name  of  their 
.constituents ;  and  the  citizens  of  Portsmouth  gave  a  splen 
did  ball,  to  which  the  Governor  and  both  Houses  of  Assem 
bly  were  invited." 

These  events  transpired  in  the  years  1772  and  1773.  Up 
to  the  close  of  the  latter  year,  nothing  of  a  serious  nature  had 
occurred  to  alienate  the  people  from  their  governors.  Their 
plans  for  enriching  themselves  had  been  carried  on  mainly 
at  the  expense  of  the  Crown,  in  appropriating  the  public 
lands  to  themselves  or  in  charging  exorbitant  fees  to  the 
grantees  of  those  lands.  During  the  Stamp  Act  controversy, 
they  had  sided  rather  with  the  people  than  with  the  govern 
ment,  and  used  their  influence  to  procure  the  repeal  of  that 
obnoxious  act ;  but  the  time  was  now  come  when  it  was 
impossible  for  a  roval  governor  to  keep  terms  with  the 
people.  For  some  time  after  the  passage  of  the  new  act  of 
1767,  for  taxing  the  Colonies  on  the  articles  of  tea,  paper, 
glass,  and  painters'  colors,  the  Governor  had  sufficient  in 
fluence  and  popularity,  by  the  aid  of  his  numerous  wealthy 
friends  and  connections,  "who  were  the  principal  families 
and  richest  merchants  of  the  Province,"  to  prevent  the  adop 
tion  of  a  non-importation  agreement  in  Portsmouth ;  and  the 
Sons  of  Liberty  of  that  place  wrote  to  their  friends  in 
Boston:  "  We  cannot  depend  on  the  countenance  of  many 
persons  of  the  first  rank  here ;  for  royal  commissions  and 
family  connections  influence  the  principal  gentlemen  among 
us,  at  least  to  keep  silence  in  these  evil  times."  The  people 
were  nevertheless  in  sympathy  with  those  of  Massachusetts 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  135 

and  the  other  Colonies,  and  the  discussion  and  agitation 
were  kept  up  until  the  Parliament  was  induced  to  repeal  the 
duties  on  all  the  articles  except  tea.  This,  however,  was 
enough  to  keep  alive  the  fears  and  resentments  of  the  peo 
ple;  and  the  efforts  to  put  the  law  in  force  caused  new  com 
binations  for  non-intercourse,  and  gave  rise  to  renewed  acts 
of  open  resistance,  especially  in  Massachusetts.  "In  New 
Hampshire,"  says  Belknap,  "the  prudence  of  Governor 
Wentworth,  the  vigilance  of  the  magistrates,  and  the  firm 
ness  of  the  people  were  combined,  and  the  hateful  com 
modity  was  sent  away  without  any  damage  and  with  but 
little  tumult." 

The  following  letter  from  the  committee  of  Portsmouth, 
N.  EL,  to  the  committee  of  Boston,  is  from  the  American 
Archives,  vol.  1  (4th  series),  page  337: 

Extracts. 

"  PORTSMOUTH,  May  19,  1774. 

"  We  think  the  late  act  of  Parliament,  to  shut  up  the  port 
of  Boston  of  the  most  extraordinary  nature  and  fatal  ten 
dency.  Administration  are  taking  every  method  to  dis 
unite  the  Colonies,  thereby  to  render  the  noble  opposition 
to  their  destructive  measures  abortive.  We  hope  a  firm 
union  of  all  the  Colonies  will  still  subsist,  and  that  such  a 
plan  may  be  devised  and  resolutely  pursued  by  all  as  may 
prevent  the  cruel  effects  of  this  act. 

"We  heartily  sympathize  with  you  under  your  present 
difficult  and  alarming  situation ;  and  we  will  exert  ourselves 
to  carry  any  plan  into  effect  which  may  be  concerted, by  tho 
Colonies  for  the  general  relief.  We  sincerely  wish  you  reso 
lution  and  prosperity  in  the  common  cause,  and  shall  ever 
view  your  interest  as  our  own.  And  are  with  the  highest 
esteem,"  etc. 

"The  first  cargo  of  tea,"  says  Belknap,  "consisting  of 
twenty-seven  chests,  was  landed  and  stored  at  the  Custom 
house  (at  Portsmouth,  June  25,  1774)  before  any  people 
could  assemble  to  obstruct  it.  A  town  meeting  was  called, 
and  a  proposal  was  made  to  Mr.  Parry,  the  consignee,  to  re- 
ship  it.  To  this  he  consented.  A  guard  was  appointed  by 
order  of  the  town  to  watch  the  Custom-house.  The  tea 
having  been  entered,  it  was  necessary  that  the  duty  should 
be  paid,  which  was  done  openly  by  the  consignee.  The 
Governor  convened  the  Council,"  and  kept  the  magistrates 
and  peace  officers  in  readiness  to  suppress  any  riotous  ap 
pearances  ;  but  there  was  no  need  of  their  exertion.  The 
tea  was  peacefully  reshipped  and  sent  to  Halifax. 

"A  second  cargo  of  thirty  chests,  which  came  consigned  to 
the  same  person,  raised  a  small  ferment,  and  the  windows 
of  his  lodgings  were  broken.  He  applied  to  the  Governor 


136  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

for  protection.  The  Governor,  as  before,  summoned  the 
Council  and  magistrates.  The  town,  by  their  committee, 
prevailed  on  the  consignee  to  send  the  tea  to  Halifax,  after 
having  paid  the  duty,  without  which  the  ship  could  not 
legally  be  cleared  at  the  Custom-house. 

"A  general  detestation  of  the  measures  pursued  by  the 
British  Ministry,  to  rivet  the  chains  on  America,  universal 
ly  prevailed.  The  towns  had  severally  passed  resolves  as 
serting  their  right  of  exemption  from  all  taxation  by  Parlia 
ment,  condemning  the  importation  and  use  of  tea,  and  ap 
pointing  committees  of  inspection  to  carry  their  resolutions 
into  effect.  The  committees  were  vigilant,  and,  being  aided 
by  the  general  sentiment  of  the  people,  their  exertions  were 
successful." 

"  At  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  of  New  Hampshire,  in 
the  spring  (May  10,  1774),  the  House  of  Representatives, 
conformably  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Assemblies  in  the 
other  Colonies,  appointed  a  Committee  of  Correspondence. 
The  Governor,  who  had  in  vain  labored  to  prevent  this 
measure,  adjourned  the  Assembly,  and  after  a  few  days  dis 
solved  it,  hoping  by  this  means  to  dissolve  the  committee 
also.  But  they  were  not  restricted  by  forms.  On  a  sum 
mons  issued  by  the  committee,  the  Representatives  met 
again,  in  their  own  chamber.  The  Governor,  attended  by 
the  sheriff  of  the  county,  went  among  them.  They  rose  at 
his  entrance.  He  declared  their  meeting  illegal,  and  directed 
the  sheriff  to  make  open  proclamation  for  all  persons  to 
disperse,  and  keep  the  King's  peace.  When  he  had  retired, 
they  resumed  their  seats,  but,  on.  further  consideration,  ad 
journed  to  another  house,  and,  after  some  conversation, 
wrote  fetters  to  all  the  towns  in  the  Province,  requesting 
them  to  send  deputies  to  hold  a  convention  at  Exeter,  who 
should  choose  delegates  for  a  general  Congress,  and  to  pay 
their  respeccive  quotas  of  two  hundred  pounds,  agreeably  to 
the  past  proportion  of  the  Provincial  tax.  They  also  recom 
mended  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  to  be  observed  by  the 
several  congregations  on  account  of  the  gloomy  appearance 
of  public  affairs.  The  day  was  observed  with  religious 
solemnity.  The  money  was  collected.  Eighty -five  deputies 
were  chosen  and  met  at  Exeter,  where  they  delegated 
Nathaniel  Folsom  and  John  Sullivan,  Esquires,  to  attend  the 
proposed  Congress  at  Philadelphia  in  September,  and  de 
livered  to  them  the  money  which  had  been  collected,  to  de 
fray  their  expenses.  They  also  recommended  the  distressed 
state  of  Boston  to  the  conmiseration  of  their  brethren  in  New 
Hampshire;  and  contributions  were  raised  in  many  of  the 
towns  for  their  relief. 

"  The  Governor  was  now  convinced,  and  in  his  letters  to 
the  Ministry  acknowledged  '  that  the  union  of  the  Colonies 
would  not  be  lost  in  New  Hampshire.'  At  the  same  time,  he 


THE  BIRTH  Of  THE  REPUBLIC1.  137 

did  the  people  the  justice  to  say  that  they  had  abstained 
from  violence  and  outrage,  and  that  the  laws  had  their 
course.  In  his  letters,  which  were  published  by  the  Ministry, 
there  appears  a  spirit  of  candor  towards  the  people,  as  well 
as  a  desire  to  recommend  himself  to  the  approbation  of  his 
superiors." 

In  December,  1774,  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Portsmouth 
learning  that  a  British  ship  of  war  would  soon  arrive  to  take 
possession  of  Fort  William  and  Mary,  at  the  entrance  of  the 
harbor,  "  with  all  possible  secrecy  and  despatch,  collected  a 
company  from  that  and  some  of  the  neighboring  towns ;  and 
before  the  Governor  had  any  suspicion  of  their  intentions, 
they  proceeded  to  New  Castle  and  assaulted  the  fort."  The 
garrison,  consisting  of  only  five  men,  was  confined,  and 
one  hundred  barrels  of  powder  were  carried  off.  The  next 
day  fifteen  of  the  lightest  cannon  and  all  the  small  arms 
were  removed.  Major  John  Sullivan  and  Captain  John 
Langdon,  subsequently  sent  as  delegates  to  Philadelphia, 
were  the  leaders  of  this  movement. 

The  following  letters  are  taken  from  the  first  volume  of 
the  American  Archives  (4th  series) : 

Governor  Wentworth  to  Governor  Gage. 

"  PORTSMOUTH,  N.  H.,  December  14,  1774. 

"  Sm:  I  have  the  honor  to  receive  your  Excellency's  let 
ter  of  the  9th  instant,  with  the  letter  from  the  Secretary  of 
State,  which  were  both  delivered  to  me  on  Monday  evening 
last  by  Mr.  Whiting. 

"It  is  with  the  utmost  concern  I  am  called  upon,  by  my 
duty  to  the  King,  to  communicate  to  your  Excellency  a  most 
unhappy  affair  perpetrated  here  this  day. 

"Yesterday  afternoon  Paul  Revere  arrived  in  this  town, 
express  from  a  committee  in  Boston  to  another  committee 
in  this  town,  and  delivered  his  despatch  to  Mr.  Samuel 
Cutts,  a  merchant  of  this  town,  who  immediately  convened 
the  committee,  of  which  he  is  one,  as  I  learned,  and  laid  it 
before  them.  This  dajr,  about  noon,  before  any  suspicion 
could  be  had  of  their  intentions,  about  four  hundred  men 
were  collected  together,  and  immediately  proceeded  to  his 
Majesty's  Castle  William  and  Mary,  at  the  entrance  of  this 
harbor,  and  forcibly  took  possession  thereof,  notwithstand 
ing  the  best  defence  that  could  be  made  by  Captain  Cochran 
(whose  conduct  has  been  extremely  laudable,  as  your  Ex 
cellency  will  see  by  the  inclosed  letter  from  him),  and  by 
violence  carried  off  upwards  of  one  hundred  barrels  of  pow 
der,  belonging  to  the  King,  deposited  in  the  Castle.  I  am 
informed  that  expresses  have  been  circulated  through  the 
neighboring  towns  to  collect  a  number  of  people  to-morrow 
or  as  soon  as  possible,  to  carry  away  all  the  cannon  and 


138  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

arms  belonging  to  the  Castle,  which  they  will  undoubtedly 
effect  unless  some  assistance  should  arrive  from  Boston  in 
time  to  prevent  it.  This  event  too  plainly  proves  the  imbe 
cility  of  this  government  to  carry  into  execution  his  Majes 
ty's  order  in  council,  for  seizing  and  detaining  arms  and 
ammunition  imported  into  this  Province,  without  some  strong 
ships  of  war  in  this  harbor;  neither  is  this  Province  or  Cus 
tom-house  treasury  in  any  degree  safe,  if  it  should  come  into 
the  mind  of  the  popular  leaders  to  seize  upon  them. 

"  The  principal  persons  who  took  the  lead  in  this  enormity 
are  well  known.  Upon  the  best  information  I  can  obtain, 
this  mischief  originates  from  the  publishing  of  the  Secretary 
of  State's  letter,  and  the  King's  order  in  Council  at  Rhode 
Island,  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  military  stores  from 
Great  Britain,  and  the  proceedings  in  that  Colony  in  conse 
quence  of  it,  which  have  been  published  here  by  the  fore- 
mentioned  Mr.  Revere,  and  the  despatch  brought,  before 
which  all  was  quiet  and  peaceable  here, 

.    "lam,  etc., 

"J.  WENTWORTH. 
"  To  the  Honorable  Governor  Gage." 

Captain  Cochran,  Commander  of  Fort  William  and  Mary, 
in  New  Hampshire,  to  Governor  Wentworth,  dated  Decem 
ber  14,  1774: 

"  MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  EXCELLENCY:  I  received  your  Ex 
cellency's  favor  of  yesterday,  and,  in  obedience  thereto,  kept 
a  strict  watch  all  night,  and  added  two  men  to  my  usual 
number,  being  all  I  could  get.  Nothing  material  occurred 
till  this  day,  one  o'clock,  when  I  was  informed  there  was  a 
number  of  people  coming  to  take  possession  of  the  fort ;  upon 
which,  having  only  five  effective  men  with  me,  I  prepared 
to  make  the  best  defence  I  could,  and  pointed  some  guns  to 
those  places  where  I  expected  they  would  enter.  About 
three  o'clock  the  fort  was  besieged  on  all  sides,  by  upwards 
of  four  hundred  men.  I  told  them,  on  their  peril,  not  to  en 
ter;  they  replied  they  would;  I  immediately  ordered  three 
four- pounders  to  be  fired  on  them,  and  then  the  small  arms, 
and  before  we  could  be  ready  to  fire  again  we  were  stormed 
on  all  quarters,  and  they  immediately  secured  both  me  and 
my  men  and  kept  us  prisoners  about  one  hour  and  a  half, 
during  which  time  they  broke  open  the  powder-house  and 
took  all  the  powder  away  except  one  barrel ;  and  having  put 
it  into  boats  and  sent  it  off,  they  released  me  from  my  con 
finement. 

"  To  which  I  can  only  add  that  I  did  all  in  my  power  to 
defend  the  fort ;  but  all  my  efforts  could  not  avail  against  so 
great  a  number. 

"I  am  your  Excellency's,  etc., 

"JOHN  COCHRAN." 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Extracts  of  a  letter  from  Governor  Wentworth  to  Gov 
ernor  Gage,  dated  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  December 
16,  1774: 

"On  Wednesday  last,  at  12  o'clock,  an  insurrection  sud 
denly  took  place  in  this  town,  and  immediately  proceeded 
to  his  Majesty's  castle,  attacked,  overpowered,  wounded, 
and  confined  the  captain,  and  thence  took  away  all  the 
King's  powder.  Yesterday,  numbers  more  assembled,  and 
last  night  brought  off  many  cannon,  etc.,  and  about  sixty 
muskets.  This  day  the  town  is  full  of  armed  men,  who 
refuse  to  disperse,  but  appear  determined  to  complete  the 
dismantling  the  fortress  entirely.  Hitherto  the  people  ab 
stain  from  private  or  personal  injuries ;  how  long  they  will 
be  so  prevailed  on,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  I  must  sincerely 
lament  the  present  distraction  which  seems  to  have  burst 
forth  by  means  of  a  letter  from  William  Cooper  to  Samuel 
Cutts,  delivered  here  on  Tuesday  last,  P.M.,  by  Paul  Revere. 
I  have  not  time  to  add  further  on  this  melancholy  subject. 

"P.  S.— The  populace  threaten  to  abuse  Colonel  Fen  ton, 
because  he  has  to  them  declared  the  folly  of  their  conduct, 
and  that  he  will  do  his  duty,  as  a  justice,  in  executing  the 
laws.  They  will  never  prevail  on  him  to  retract,  if  all  the 
men  in  the  Province  attack  him.  If  I  had  two  hundred  such 
men,  the  castle  and  all  therein  would  yet  have  been  safe.  At 
this  moment  the  heavy  cannon  are  not  carried  off,  but  how 
soon  they  may  be,  I  cannot  say." 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Exeter,  in  New  Hampshire,  dated 
January  2,  1775 : 

"At  a  legal  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town,  held 
here  last  Monday,  among  other  things,  it  was  voted  unani 
mously  to  adopt  the  Association  of  i;he  Continental  Congress, 
and  a  numerous  committee  was  chosen  to  see  the  same,  was 
duly  observed,  and  strictly  adhered  to. 

"At  the  same  meeting,  five  deputies  were  appointed  to 
assist  at  the  Convention  to  meet  here  the  25th  instant,  for 
the  choice  of  delegates  to  represent  this  Province  at  the 
Continental  Congress  proposed  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia 
in  May  next;  and  the  said  deputies  were  empowered  to  join 
with  the  other  deputies  of  the  Convention  in  choosing  a 
committee  of  their  body  to  proportion  the  sum  to  be  allowed 
such  delegates  among  the  several  towns  and  parishes  in  this 
Government.  It  was  also  voted  not  to  suffer  any  hawkers, 
pedlers,  or  petty  chapmen  to  sell  or  expose  to  sale  among 
us  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise. 

"It  is  the  opinion  of  many  that  if  this  vote,  with  the  law 
of  the  Province,  should  prove  ineffectual  to  prevent  the  in 
trusion  of  such  persons,  an  experiment  ought  to  be  made  of 
tar  and  feathers." 

Epsom  (New  Hampshire)  Resolves: 

"At  a  legal  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 


140  THE  BIRT3  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Epsom,  held  on  Monday,  January  9,  1775,  deputies  were 
chosen  to  meet  at  Exeter  on  the  25th  instant,  agreeable  to 
the  letter  sent  to  that  town  for  the  purpose. 

"Whereas,  The  grand  Continental  Congress  has  recom 
mended  a  non  importation  and  non-consumption  of  goods 
to  be  the  most  effectual  method  to  ease  our  deplorable  situ 
ation;  and,  as  we  view  the  Scotch  merchants  and  traders  in 
general  to  be  no  friends  to  our  country,  and  are  altogether 
for  self  interest  and  lucrative  gain,  and,  to  accomplish  their 
designs,  have  filled  the  country  with  hawkers,  pedlers,  and 
petty  chapmen,  with  their  lawns,  cambrics,  ribbons,  etc., 
tempting  women,  girls,  and  boys  with  their  unnecessary 
fineries,  which  is  a  moth  to  our  country,  and  a  damage  to 
all  honest  merchants  and  traders  that  are  true  friends  to  our 
country,  and  that  deal  upon  honor,  and  to  prevent  all  such 
diabolical  proceedings  for  the  future: 

4 'Resolved,  That  no  pedlers,  hawkers,  or  petty  chapmen 
shall  be  tolerated  for  the  future  to  sell  or  dispose  of  any 
goods,  of  whatsoever  name  or  nature,  in  said  town,  upon  no 
less  penalty  than  receiving  a  new  suit  agreeable  to  the  mod 
ern  mode,  and  forfeiture  of  their  goods. 

A  committee  of  inspection  was  then  chosen  to  see  that  the 
above  resolve  is  carefully  executed. 

PROVINCIAL    CONVENTION. 

"At  the  Convention  of  Deputies,  appointed  by  the  several 
towns  in  the  Province  aforesaid,  held  at  Exeter  on  the  25th 
day  of  January,  1775,  there  were  present  one  hundred  and 
forty- four  members. 

"Hon.  John  Went  worth,  Esq.,  president.  Voted  unani 
mously,  That  we  heartily  approve  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
late  grand  Continental  Congress,  respecting  the  just  state 
of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  British  Colonies,  and  of 
the  meang  recommended  to  restore,  secure,  and  protect  the 
same ;  and  that  we  return  our  most  unfeigned  thanks  to  the 
late  members  of  that  Congress  in  general,  and  to  those  of 
this  Province  in  particular,  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the 
important  trust  reposed  in  them. 

"Voted,  That  John  Sullivan  and  John  Langdon,  Esqrs., 
be  delegates  to  represent  this  Province  in  the  Continental 
Congress  proposed  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  10th  day 
of  May  next ;  and  that  they,  and  each  of  them  in  the  absence 
of  the  other,  have  full  and  ample  power  in  behalf  of  this 
Province  to  consent  and  agree  to  all  measures  which  said 
Congress  shall  deem  necessary  to  obtain  redress  for  Ameri 
can  grievances. 

"Voted,  That  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  lawful  money 
be  raised  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  said  Delegates. 

"Voted,  That  the  Honorable  John  Wentworth,  Esq., 
Colonel  Nathaniel  Folsom,  Honorable  Mesheck  Weare,  Esq., 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  141 

Colonel  Josiah  Bartlet,  Colonel  Christopher  Tappan,  Ebene- 
zer  Thompson,  and  William  Whipple,  Esqrs.,  be  a  committee 
in  behalf  of  this  Province,  to  call  a  Provincial  Convention 
of  Deputies  when  they  shall  judge  the  exigencies  of  public 
affairs  require  it ;  and  that  they,  together  with  Samuel  Cutts 
and  John  Pickering,  Esqrs.,  be  a  Committee  of  Correspond 
ence  for  this  Province. 

"  Voted,  The  following  address  : 

"  To  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Province  of  New  Hampshire — 

"BRETHREN:  When  we  consider  the  unhappy  condition 
to  which  you  and  your  American  brethren  are  reduced; 
when  we  reflect  that  for  near  ten  months  past  you  have 
been  deprived  of  any  share  in  your  own  Government,  and 
of  those  advantages  which  flow  to  society  from  legislative 
assemblies ;  when  we  view  the  lowering  clouds  charged  with 
Ministerial  vengeance,  fast  spreading  over  this  extensive 
continent,  ready  to  burst  on  the  heads  of  its  inhabitants, 
and  to  involve  the  whole  British  Empire  in  one  common  ruin ; 
at  this  alarming  juncture,  duty  to  Almighty  God,  to  our 
country,  ourselves,  and  posterity  loudly  demands  our  most 
strenuous  exertions  to  avoid  the  impending  danger.  Such 
are  the  measures  adopted  by  the  British  Ministry  for  enslav 
ing  you,  and  with  such  incessant  vigilance  has  their  plan 
been  prosecuted,  that  tyranny  already  begins  to  wave  its 
banners  in  your  borders,  and  to  threaten  those  once  happy 
regions  with  infamous  and  detestable  slavery. 

"Shall  we,  knowing  the  value  of  freedom,  and  nursed  in 
the  arms  of  liberty,  make  a,  base  and  ignominous  surrender 
of  our  rights,  thereby  consigning  succeeding  generations  to 
a  condition  of  wretchedness  from  which  perhaps  all  human 
efforts  will  be  insufficient  to  extricate  them  ? 

"Duty  to  oursejves  and  regard  for  our  country  should 
induce  us  to  defend  our  liberties  and  to  transmit  the  fair 
inheritance  to  our  posterity  unimpaired. 

"We  therefore  earnestly  recommend, — 

"1st.  That  you  discountenance  and  discourage  all  tres 
passes  and  injuries  against  individuals  and  their  property, 
and  all  disorders  of  every  kind ;  and  that  you  cultivate  and 
maintain  peace  and  harmony  among  yourselves. 

' '  2d.  That  you  yield  due  obedience  to  the  magistrates  with 
in  this  Government,  and  carefully  endeavor  to  support  the 
laws  thereof. 

* '  3d.  That  you  strictly  adhere  to  the  Association  of  the  late 
Continental  Congress,  and  deal  with  the  violators  of  it  in  the 
manner  therein  recommended. 

"4th.  That  you  endeavor  particularly  to  enforce  the  laws 
of  the  Province  against  hawkers,  pedlers,  and  petty  chap 
men. 

"5th.  That  you  abstain  from  the  use  of  East  India  tea 
whenever  or  by  whatever  means  it  has  or  may  be  imported. 


142  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

''6th.  That  you  encourage  and  support  your  several  Com 
mittees  of  Correspondence  and  Inspection  in.  discharging  the 
very  important  trust  you  have  reposed  in  them. 

u  7th.  That,  in  case  any  inhabitant  of  these  Colonies  should 
be  seized  in  order  to  be  transported  to  Great  Britain,  or  other 
parts  beyond  seas,  to  be  tried  for  offences  supposed  to  be 
committed  in  America,  you  conduct  yourselves  agreeable 
to  the  advice  of  the  late  Continental  Congress. 

"llth.  That,  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston,  in  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  are  now  laboring  under  a 
load  of  Ministerial  vengeance,  laid  upon  them  to  enforce 
obedience  to  certain  arbitrary  and  unconstitutional  acts, 
which,  if  once  submitted  to,  must  involve  all  America  in 
slavery  and  ruin ;  conscious  that  all  these  Colonies  are  largely 
indebted  to  the  virtue  and  fortitude  of  those  patriotic  asser- 
tors  of  freedom,  we  heartily  recommend  a  continuation  of 
your  contributions  for  the  relief  of  that  oppressed  people; 
and  that  you  keep  yourselves  in  constant  readiness  to  sup 
port  them  in  their  just  opposition  whenever  necessity  may 
require." 

When  news  of  the  battles  of  Lexington  and  Concord 
reached  New  Hampshire,  the  people  of  that,  as  of  the  other, 
Colonies,  took  up  arms  and  flew  to  the  assistance  of  their 
brethren  of  Massachusetts. 

A  new  convention,  very  fully  attended,  assembled  at  Ex- 
etsr  early  in  June ;  they  passed  votes  of  thanks  to  those  who 
had  seized  the  powder  and  arms  at  Fort  William  and  Mary, 
and  to  those  who  had  made  a  more  recent  seizure  at  Jerry's 
Point.  The  committee  of  Portsmouth  early  in  July  forcibly 
took  the  public  records  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Secretary  of 
State ;  and  from  this  time  forward  the  King's  government 
became  a  mere  shadow  in  New  Hampshire,  while  all  real 
power  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  the 
Committee  of  Safety  acting  as  an  executive. 

An  attempt  had  been  made  by  the  Governor  to  strengthen 
his  party  in  the  legislature  by  issuing  writs  of  election  to 
new  and  inconsiderable  townships.  While  older  and  more 
populous  towns  were  overlooked.  When  the  Assembly  met, 
the  first  step  taken  by  the  House  was  the  expulsion  of  three 
of  these  members. 

The  Governor  then  adjourned  the  Assembly.  "  One  of  the 
expelled  members  having  spoken  his  mind  freely  without 
doors,  was  assaulted  by  the  populace,  and  took  shelter  in 
the  Governor's  house.  The  people  demanded  him  and  brought 
a  gun  mounted  on  a  carriage  to  the  door,  upon  which  the 
offender  was  delivered  up  and  conveyed  to  Exeter."  The 
Governor  retreated  to  the  Fort,  and  his  house  was  pillaged 
by  the  mob.  The  Assembly  met  July  llth,  and  received  a 
message  from  the  Governor,  still  resident  in  the  Fort,  by 
which  he  adjourned  them  to  the  28th  September.  But  this 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  143 

was  the  end  of  royal  government.  The  Assembly  never  met 
again,  and  the  Governor  soon  after  went  on  board  a  ship  of 
war  to  Boston. 

In  November,  steps  were  taken  to  reorganize  the  govern 
ment  on  a  more  permanent  footing.  The  Convention  asked 
the  advice  of  the  Continental  Congress,  which  was  given  to 
the  effect  that  a  convention  should  be  called  to  agree  upon 
a  plan  of  government.  Their  first  scheme  was  to  establish 
a  single  representative  body ;  but  in  the  course  of  six  months 
the  Delegates  became  convinced  "that  it  was  improper  for 
a  representative  assembly  to  consist  of  one  house  only." 
They  accordingly  adopted  for  themselves  the  name  of  a 
House  of  Representatives,  and  proceeded  to  elect  twelve 
Councillors  to  constitute  a  distinct  branch  of  the  legislature. 
These  were  chosen  from  the  several  counties,  in  proportion 
to  population.  This  was  early  in  January,  1776.  In  future 
elections,  the  people  were  to  elect  Councillors,  as  well  as 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  A  Committee  of 
Safety  was  appointed  to  act  as  an  executive.  The  president 
of  the  Council  was  to  be  president  of  this  Committee.  Upon 
the  adoption  of  this  plan  of  government,  the  convention  made 
this  declaration,  viz. : 

"  We  conceive  ourselves  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  estab 
lishing  a  form  of  government  to  continue  during  the  present 
unhappy  and  unnatural  contest  with  Great  Britain ;  protest 
ing  and  declaring  that  we  never  sought  to  throw  off  our  de 
pendence  on  Great  Britain,  but  felt  ourselves  happy  under 
her  protection  whilst  we  could  enjoy  our  constitutional 
rights  and  privileges ;  and  that  we  shall  rejoice  if  such  a 
reconciliation  between  us  and  our  parent-state  can  be  ef 
fected  as  shall  be  approved  by  the  Continental  Congress,  in 
whose  prudence  and  wisdom  we  confide." 

Thus  in  advance  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
a  government,  entirely  free  from  British  control,  established 
in  New  Hampshire ;  and  on  the  15th  June,  1776,  the  Assembly 
of  New  Hampshire  instructed  their  Delegates  to  the  Con 
tinental  Congress  to  vote  for  independence : 

"  Saturday,  June  15,  1776. 

"The  House  met  according  to  adjournment. 

"The  draught  made  by  the  committee  of  both  Houses,  re 
lating  to  independence,  and  voted  as  the  sense  of  this  House 
as  in  the  preceding  page,  is  as  follows,  viz. : 

"Whereas,  It  now  appears  an  undoubted  fact  that,  not 
withstanding  all  the  dutiful  petitions  and  decent  remon 
strances  from  the  American  Colonies,  and  the  utmost  exer 
tions  of  their  best  friends  in  England  on  their  behalf,  the 
British  Ministery,  arbitrary  and  vindictive,  are  yet  deter 
mined  to  reduce  by  fire  and  sword  pur  bleeding  country  to 
their  absolute  obedience ;  and  for  this  purpose,  in  addition  to 


144  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

their  own  forces,  have  engaged  great  numbers  of  foreign 
mercenaries,  who  may  now  be  on  their  passage  here,  accom 
panied  by  a  formidable  fleet,  to  ravage  and  plunder  the  sea- 
coast  ;  from  all  which  we  may  expect  the  most  dismal  scenes 
of  distress  the  ensuing  year,  unless  we  exert  ourselves  by 
ever  means  and  precaution  possible ; 

"And  whereas,  We  of  this  Colony  of  New  Hampshire  have 
the  example  of  the  most  respectable  of  our  sister-Colonies 
before  us,  for  entering  upon  that  most  important  step  of 
disunion  from  Great  Britain,  and  declaring  ourselves  free 
and  independent  of  the  Crown  thereof,  being  impelled  thereto 
by  the  most  violent  and  injurious  treatment,  and  it  appear 
ing  most  necessary  in  this  most  critical  juncture  of  our  pub 
lic  affiirs,  that  the  honorable  Continental  Congress  who 
have  this  most  important  object  under  their  immediate  con 
sideration,  should  be  also  informed  of  our  resolution  there 
on  without  loss  of  time; — We  do  hereby  declare  that  it  is 
the  opinion  of  our  Assembly  that  our  Delegates  at  the  Con 
tinental  Congress  should  be  instructed,  and  they  are  hereby 
instructed,  to  join  with  the  other  Colonies  in  declaring  the 
thirteen  united  Colonies  a  free  and  independent  state, 
solemnly  pledging  our  faith  and  honor  that  we  will  on  our 
parts  support  the  measure  with  our  lives  and  fortunes;  and 
that  in  consequence  thereof  they,  the  Continental  Congress, 
on  whose  wisdom,  fidelity,  and  integrity  we  rely,  may  enter 
into  and  form  such  alliances  as  they  may  judge  most  con 
ducive  to  the  present  safety  and  future  advantage  of  these 
American  Colonies,  provided  the  regulation  of  our  internal 
police  be  under  the  direction  of  our  own  Assembly. 

"Entered  according  to  the  original. 

"Attest: 

"NOAH  EMERY,  Clerk." 

Connecticut. 

Having  already  explained  the  character  of  the  act  of  Par 
liament  of  1767,  for  taxing  tea,  it  is  needless  to  restate  it  in 
this  place.  Connecticut  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  Col 
onies  to  enter  into  the  non-intercourse  agreement,  by  which 
the  tax  was  rendered  of  no  other  effect  than  that  of  serving 
to  alienate  the  affections  of  the  Colonists  from  the  mother- 
country.  In  August,  1768,  a  non  importation  agreement 
was  formed  between  the  merchants  of  Connecticut  and  those 
of  New  York.  It  was  as  follows: 

"We  will  not  import,  on  our  own  account  or  on  commis 
sion,  or  purchase  of  any  who  shall  import,  from  any  other 
Colony  in  America,  from  January,  1769,  to  January,  1770, 
any  tea,  glass,  paper,  or  other  goods  commonly  imported 
from  Great  Britain,"  etc. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  at  Glastenbury,  August  27, 
1770,  to  appoint  Delegates  to  a  general  convention  to  be  held 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  145 

September  13th  at  New  Haven.  Its  object  was  stated  to  be 
to  "Resolve  upon  such  measures  as  are  proper  to  be  taken 
for  the  support  of  the  non-importation  agreement,  so  im 
portant  at  this  critical  juncture  to  the  plantations  in  Amer 
ica  belonging  to  the  British  Crown."  Two  Delegates  were 
appointed,  who  were  directed  to  support  to  the  uttermost 
the  non-intercourse  agreement.  Complaint  was  made  of 
bad  faith  on  the  part  of  the  New  York  merchants.  Similar 
town  meetings  were  held  all  over  the  Colony,  at  which  the 
most  determined  and  patriotic  resolutions  were  adopted.  It 
seems  that  no  record  of  the  convention  of  September  13th  has 
been  preserved,  or  at  least  no  reference  is  made  to  it  by  the 
historian.  Much  enthusiasm  sprang  up  in  favor  of  domestic 
manufactures.  The  women,  no  less  than  the  men,  agreed 
to  wear  nothing  but  home-spun.  * '  Committees  of  inspection 
were  appointed  by  the  towns  to  see  that  no  man  or  woman 
should  infringe  upon  the  sanctity  of  the  non-importation 
agreement.  These  committees  were  by  no  means  idle.  The 
gentleman  who  wished  to  drink  a  glass  of  brandy  or  other 
imported  liquor,  and  dame  who  felt  that  her  patriotism 
needed  the  gentler  stimulant  of  tea,  were  obliged  to  keep 
the  tempting  beverage  out  of  sight  and  watch  a  secret  mo 
ment  to  nourish  the  cherished  appetite.  Woe  betide  the 
wretch  who  should  be  caught  in  the  act  of  transgression!  If 
a  male,  publication  in  the  Gazette,  the  cry  of  the  populace 
at  his  heels,  and  the  insults  of  every  boy  who  was  large 
enough  to  shout  the  word  '  Liberty,'  was  the  least  that  he 
could  expect,  even  should  he  be  fortunate  enough  to  escape 
the  tenacious  affinities  of  tar  and  feathers.  If  a  woman,  it 
were  better  for  her  that  she  should  never  have  been  born. 
No  sighs  were  in  reserve  to  be  breathed  in  her  ears  by  the 
young  or  the  brave,  though  her  face  were  fair  as  an  angel's; 
and  those  of  her  own  sex  were  sure  to  turn  from  her  as  if 
her  eye  had  in  it  an  evil  charm."— Hollister,  vol.  2,  page  149. 
The  spirit  of  the  people  will  be  indicated  by  the  following 
resolutions : 

"  FARMINGTON,  Conn.,  May  19,  1774. 

"Early  in  the  morning  was  found  the  following  handbill, 
posted  up  in  various  parts  of  the  town: 

u  '  To  pass  through  the  fire  at  6  o'clock  this  evening  in 
honor  to  the  immortal  Goddess  of  Liberty,  the  late  infamous 
act  of  the  British  Parliament  for  further  distressing  the 
American  Colonies ;  the  place  of  execution  will  be  the  public 
parade,  where  all  Sons  of  Liberty  are  desired  to  attend.' 

"  Accordingly,  a  very  numerous  and  respectable  body  were 
assembled  of  near  one  thousand  people,  when  a  huge  pole, 
just  forty -five  feet  high,  was  erected  and  consecrated  to  the 
shrine  of  Liberty;  after  which  the  act  of  Parliament,  for 
blocking  up  the  Boston  harbor,  was  read  aloud,  sentenced  to 
the  flames,  and  executed  by  the  hands  of  the  common  hang 
man,  Then  the  following  resolves  were  passed,  nem.  con,: 


146  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

u  '1st.  That  it  is  the  greatest  dignity,  interest,  and  happiness 
of  every  American  to  be  united  with  our  parent  state,  while 
our  liberties  are  duty  secured,  maintained,  and  supported  by 
our  rightful  sovereign,  whose  person  we  greatly  revere; 
whose  government,  while  duly  administered,  we  are  ready 
with  our  lives  and  properties  to  support. 

"  '  2d.  That  the  present  Ministry,  being  instigated  by  the 
Devil,  and  led  on  by  their  wicked  and  corrupt  hearts,  have 
a  design  to  take  away  our  liberties  and  properties,  and  to 
enslave  us  forever. 

"  '  3d.  That  the  late  act  which  their  malice  has  caused  to 
be  passed  in  Parliament,  for  blocking  up  the  port  of  Boston, 
is  unjust,  illegal,  and  oppressive;  and  that  we,  and  every 
American,  are  sharers  in  the  insults  offered  to  the  town  of 
Boston. 

"  '  4th.  That  these  pimps  and  parasites  who  dared  to  advise 
their  master  to  such  detestable  measures,  be  held  in  utter 
abhorrence  by  us,  and  every  American,  and  their  names 
loaded  with  the  curses  of  all  succeeding  generations. 

"  *  5th.  That  we  scorn  the  chains  of  slavery;  we  despise 
every  attempt  to  rivet  them  upon  us ;  we  are  the  Sons  of 
Freedom :  and  resolved  that,  till  time  shall  be  no  more,  that 
Godlike  virtue  shall  blazen  our  hemisphere." — American 
Archives  (4th  series),  vol.  1. 

The  passage  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill  by  the  British  Parlia 
ment  everywhere  awakened  among  the  people  of  Connecti 
cut  a  lively  sympathy  with  their  Massachusetts  brethren. 
At  the  May  session  of  the  General  Assembly,  energetic 
measures  were  taken  to  prepare  the  Colony  for  war :  arms 
were  collected,  officers  were  appointed,  and  military  com 
panies  were  formed.  A  series  of  resolutions  were  adopted, 
which  assert  the  exclusive  right  of  the  people  of  the  Colony 
to  tax  themselves,  by  their  representatives,  in  their  General 
Assembly ;  deny  the  right  of  taxation  to  the  British  Parlia 
ment;  condemn  the  establishment  of  Admiralty  Courts  in 
America,  which  take  away  the  common -law  jurisdiction,  as 
unconstitutional;  and  declare  that  the  acts  of  Parliament 
which  shut  up  the  port  of  Boston  and  take  away  the  char 
tered  rights  of  that  Colony  are  subversive  of  liberty.  The 
resolutions  are  as  follows : 

Connecticut  Resolutions : 

11  In  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  English  Colon j 
of  Connecticut,  on  the  second  Thursday  in  May,  1774,  this 
House,  taking  into  their  serious  consideration  sundry  acts 
of  the  British  Parliament,  in  which  their  power  and  right  to 
impose  duties  and  taxes  upon  hi?  Majesty's  subjects  in  the 
British  Colonies  and  Plantations  in  America,  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  a  revenue,  are  declared,  attempted  to  be  exer 
cised,  and  in  various  ways  enforced  and  carried  into  execu- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  147 

tion;  and  especially  a  very  late  act,  in  which  pains  and 
penalties  are  inflicted  on  the  capital  of  a  neighboring  Prov 
ince, — a  precedent  justly  alarming  to  every  British  Colony 
in  America,  and  which,  being  admitted  and  established,  their 
lives,  liberties,  and  properties  are  at  the  mercy  of  a  tribunal 
where  innocence  may  be  punished  upon  the  accusation  and 
evidence  of  wicked  men,  without  defence,  and  even  without 
knowing  the  accuser— a  precedent  calculated  to  terrify  them 
into  silence  and  submission,  whilst  they  are  stripped  of  their 
invaluable  rights  and  liberties; — do  think  it  their  duty,  and 
expedient  at  this  time,  to  renew  their  claim  to  the  rights, 
liberties,  and  immunities  of  free-born  Englishmen,  which 
they  are  justly  entitled  to  by  the  laws  of  nature,  by  the 
Eoyal  Grant  and  Charter  of  his  late  Majesty  King  Charles 
the  Second,  and  by  long  and  uninterrupted  possession;  and 
thereupon  do  declare  and  resolve  as  follows,  viz. : 

"1st.  In  the  first  place  we  do  most  expressly  declare, 
recognize,  and  acknowledge  his  Majesty  King  George  the 
Third  to  be  the  lawful  and  rightful  King  of  Great  Britain, 
and  all  other  his  dominions  and  countries ;  and  that  it  is  the 
indispensable  duty  of  this  Colony,  as  being  part  of  his  Ma 
jesty's  dominions,  always  to  bear  faithful  and  true  allegiance 
to  his  Majesty,  and  them  to  defend,  to  the  utmost  of  their 
power,  against  all  attempts  upon  his  person,  Crown,  or 
dignity. 

"  2d.  That  the  subjects  of  his  Majesty  in  this  Colony  ever 
have  had,  and  of  right  ought  to  have  and  enjoy,  all  the  liber 
ties,  immunities,  and  privileges  of  free  and  natural  born  sub 
jects  within  any  of  the  dominions  our  said  King,  his  heirs 
and  successors,  as  fully  and  amply  as  if  they  and  every  of 
them  were  born  within  the  realm  of  England.  That  they 
have  a  property  in  their  own  estate,  and  are  to  be  taxed  by 
their  own  consent  only,  given  in  person  or  by  their  repre 
sentatives,  and  are  not  to  be  disseized  of  their  liberties  or 
free  customs,  sentenced,  or  condemned  but  by  lawful  judg 
ment  of  their  peers ;  and  that  the  said  rights  and  immunities 
are  recognized  and  confirmed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Col 
ony,  by  the  Eoyal  Grant  and  Charter  aforesaid,  and  are 
their  undoubted  right  to  all  intents,  constructions,  and  pur 
poses  whatsoever. 

"  3d.  That  the  only  lawful  representatives  of  the  freemen 
of  this  Colony  are  the  persons  they  elect  to  serve  as  mem 
bers  of  the  General  Assembly  thereof. 

"4th.  That  it  is  the  just  right  and  privilege  of  his  Majesty's 
liege  subjects  of  this  Colony  to  be  governed  by  their  Gen 
eral  Assembly  in  the  article  of  taxing,  and  internal  police, 
agreeable  to  the  powers  and  privileges  recognized  and  con 
firmed  in  the  royal  Charter  aforesaid,  which  they  have 
enjoyed  for  more  than  a  century  past,  and  have  neither  for 
feited  nor  surrendered,  but  the  same  have  been  constantly 
recognized  by  the  King  and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain. 


148  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"5th.  That  the  erecting  new  and  unusual  Courts  of  Admir 
alty,  and  vesting  them  with  extraordinary  powers,  above, 
and  not  subject  to  the  control  of  the  Common-law  Courts 
in  this  Colony,  to  judge  and  determine  in  suits  relating  to 
the  duties  and  forfeitures  contained  in  said  acts  foreign  to 
the  accustomed  and  established  jurisdiction  of  the  former 
Courts  of  Admiralty  in  America,  is,  in  the  opinion  of  this 
House,  highly  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  his  Majesty's  sub 
jects  in  America,  contrary  to  the  great  Charter  of  English 
liberty,  and  destructive  of  one  of  their  most  darling  rights— 
that  of  trial  by  juries,  which  is  justly  esteemed  one  chief  ex 
cellence  of  the  British  Constitution,  and  a  principal  branch 
of  English  liberty. 

' '  6th.  That  the  apprehending  and  carrying  persons  beyond 
the  sea  to  be  tried  for  any  crime  alleged  to  be  committed 
within  this  Colony,  or  subjecting  them  to  be  tried,  by  com 
missioners,  or  by  any  court  constituted  by  act  of  Parliament, 
or  otherwise,  within  this  Colony  in  a  summary  way,  with 
out  a  jury,  is  unconstitutional  and  subversive  of  the  liber 
ties  and  rights  of  the  free  subjects  of  this  Colony. 

"7th.  That  any  harbor  or  port,  duly  opened  and  consti 
tuted,  cannot  be  shut  up  and  discharged  but  by  an  act  of 
the  legislature  of  the  Province  or  Colony  in  which  such 
harbor  or  port  is  situated,  without  subverting  the  rights 
and  liberties,  and  destroying  the  property,  of  his  Majesty's 
subjects. 

"  8th.  That  the  late  act  of  Parliament  inflicting  pains  and 
penalties  on  the  town  of  Boston,  by  blocking  up  their  har 
bor,  is  a  precedent  justly  alarming  to  the  British  Colonies  in 
America,  and  wholly  inconsistent  with  and  subversive  of 
their  constitutional  rights  and  liberties. 

"9th.  That  whenever  his  Majesty's  service  shall  require 
the  aid  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony,  the  same  fixed 
principles  of  loyalty,  as  well  as  self -preservation,  which  have 
hitherto  induced  us  fully  to  comply  with  his  Majesty's  requi 
sitions,  together  with  the  deep  sense  we  have  of  its  being  our 
indispensable  duty  (in  the  opinion  of  this  House),  will  ever 
hold  us  under  the  strongest  obligations,  which  can  be  given 
or  desired,  most  cheerfully  to  grant  his  Majesty,  from  time 
to  time,  our  further  proportion  of  men  and  money  for  the 
defence,  protection,  security,  and  other  services  of  the  Brit 
ish-American  dominions. 

"  10th.  That  we  look  on  the  well-being  and  greatest  secur 
ity  of  this  Colony  to  depend  (under  God)  on  our  connection 
with  Great  Britain,  which,  it  is  ardently  wished,  may  con 
tinue  to  the  latest  posterity  ;  and  that  it  is  the  humble 
opinion  of  this  House  that  thp  Constitution  of  this  Colony, 
being  understood  and  practised  upon  as  it  has,  ever  since  it 
existed  (till  very  lately),  is  the  surest  bond  of  union,  confi 
dence,  and  mutual  prosperity  of  our  mother-country  and  us? 


THE  BIRTH  OP  THE  REPUBLIC.  149 

and  the  best  foundation  on  which  to  build  the  good  of  the 
whole,  whether  considered  in  a  civil,  military,  or  mercantile 
light ;  and  of  the  truth  of  this  opinion  we  are  the  more  con 
fident  as  it  is  not  formed  on  speculation  only,  but  has  been 
verified  in  fact,  and,  by  long  experience  found  to  produce, 
according  to  our  extent  and  other  circumstances,  as  many 
loyal,  virtuous,  industrious,  and  well-governed  subjects  as 
any  part  of  his  Majesty's  dominions  ;  and  as  truly  zealous 
of,  and  as  warmly  engaged  to  promote,  the  best  good  and  real 
glory  of  the  grand  whole  which  constitutes  the  British  Em 
pire. 

"  llth.  That  it  is  an  indispensable  duty  which  we  owe  to 
our  King,  our  country,  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  by  all 
lawful  ways  and  means  in  our  power,  to  maintain,  defend, 
and  preserve  these  our  rights  and  liberties,  and  to  transmit 
them  entire  and  in  violate  to  the  latest  generations  ;  and  that 
it  is  our  fixed,  determined,  and  unalterable  resolution  faith 
fully  to  discharge  this  our  duty. 

"At  their  sessions  at  Hartford  on  the  second  Thursday  of 
May,  1774,  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  Majesty's  reign, 
the  foregoing  resolutions  reported  to  the  House  by  their 
Committee  were  unanimously  voted  and  ordered  to  be 
entered  on  their  Journal  or  Record." — American  Archives 
(4th  Series),  vol.  1,  p.  355. 

On  the  6th  June,  a  town  meeting  in  Norwich,  "being  le 
gally  warned  and  convened," 

"Voted,  That  we  will,  to  the  utmost  of  our  abilities, 
assert  and  defend  the  liberties  and  immunities  of  British 
America  ;  and  that  we  will  co-operate,  with  our  brethren  in 
this  and  other  Colonies,  in  such  reasonable  measures  as 
shall,  in  a  General  Congress,  or  otherwise,  be  judged  most 
proper  to  relieve  us  from  the  burdens  we  now  feel,  and 
secure  us  from  greater  evils  we  fear  will  follow  from  the 
principles  adopted  by  the  British  Parliament  respecting  the 
town  of  Boston." — American  Archives  (4th  Series),  vol. 
1st,  page  390. 

*'  June  23,  1774,  a  town  meeting  was  held  at  Glastonbury, 
which  appointed  a  Committee  of  Correspondence  in  order 
'  to  promote  and  forward  such  contributions  as  shall  be 
made  in  this  town  for  the  relief  of  our  distressed  friends  in 
Boston.'  The  Committee,  composed  of  Col.  Elizur  Talcott, 
Mr.  William  Willis,  Captain  Elisha  Hollister,  Mr.  Ebenezer 
Plummer,  Mr.  Isaac  Mosely,  Mr.  Thomas  Kimberly,  and  Mr. 
Josiah  Hale,  forwarded  with  the  resolutions  an  eloquent 
address,  in  which  they  say  :  '  We  cannot  but  deeply  sympa 
thize  with  you  under  the  gloomy  prospects  which  at  present 
are  before  you  on  account  of  those  oppressive  acts  of  Parlia 
ment  which  have  been  lately  passed,  respecting  Boston  in 
particular  and  the  Province  of  Massachusettes  Bay  in  gen 
eral.  Especially  when  we  consider  that  our  Liberties  and 


150  THE  BIRTH  OF1  THE  REPUBLIC. 

privileges  are  so  nearly  and  indissolubly  connected  with 
yours,  that  an  encroachment  upon  one,  at  least,  destroys  all 
the  security  of  the  other.  It  seems  that  the  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain  are  determined  to  reduce  America  to  a  state 
of  vassalage  ;  and  unless  we  all  unite  in  the  common  cause, 
they  will  undoubtedly  accomplish  their  design.  .  .  .  You 
may  depend  on  us,  and  we  believe  all  Connecticut,  almost  to 
a  man.  to  stand  by  you  and  assist  you  in  the  defence  of  our 
invaluable  rights  and  privileges,  even  to  the  sacrificing  of 
our  lives  and  fortunes,  in  so  good  a  cause.  .  .  .We  are 
informed  that  your  House  of  Representatives  have  ap 
pointed  a  time  for  a  meeting  of  the  General  Congress,  in 
which  we  hope  all  the  Colonies  will  concur,  and  that  a  non 
importation  and  non-exportation  agreement  will  be  imme 
diately  come  into,  which,  we  doubt  not,  will  procure  the 
desired  effect  ;  ana  notwithstanding  the  gloomy  aspect  of 
things  at  present,  we  cannot  but  look  forward  with  fond 
hopes  and  pleasing  expectations  to  that  glorious  era  when 
America,  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  her  enemies  to  the  con 
trary,  shall  rise  superior  to  all  opposition,  overcome  oppres 
sion,  be  a  refuge  for  the  oppressed,  a  nurse  of  liberty,  a 
scourge  to  tyranny,  and  the  envy  of  the  world ;— then  (if  you 
stand  firm  and  unshaken  amidst  the  storm  of  ministerial 
vengeance)  shall  it  be  told,  to  your  everlasting  honor,  that 
Boston  stood  foremost  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  when  the 
greatest  power  on  earth  was  striving  to  divest  them  of  it; 
and  by  their  noble  efforts,  joined  with  the  united  virtue  of 
her  sister- Colonies,  they  overcame,  and  thereby  transmitted 
to  posterity,  those  invaluable  rights  and  privileges  which 
their  forefathers  purchased  with  their  blood.'  " 

This  address  is  as  remarkable  for  its  prophetic  as  for  its 
bold  and  patriotic  spirit. 

Extract  from  the  proceedings  of  the  town  meeting  in 
Windham,  in  Connecticut : 

"June  23, 1774. 

"We  cannot  close  this  meeting  without  expressing  our 
utmost  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  those  few  in  a  devoted 
Province  styling  themselves  ministers  and  merchants,  bar 
risters  and  attorneys,  who  have,  against  the  sense  and 
opinion  of  this  vast  continent,  distinguished  themselves  in 
their  late  fawning,  adulating  address  to  Governor  Hutch- 
inson,  the  scourge  of  the  Province  which  gave  him  birth, 
and  the  pest  of  America.  His  principles  and  conduct  evi 
denced  by  his  letters  and  those  under  his  approbation  are 
so  replete  with  treason  against  his  country,  and  with  the 
meanest  of  self -exaltation,  as  cannot  be  palliated  by  art,  nor 
distinguished  by  subtlety.  We  esteem  those  addresses  a  high 
handed  insult  on  the  town  of  Boston  and  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  particular,  and  all  the  American  Col 
onies  in  general.  Those  styled  merchants  may  plead  their 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  151 

profound  ignorance  of  the  Constitutional  rights  of  English 
men  as  an  excuse,  in  some  degree.  But  for  those  who  style 
themselves  barristers  and  attorneys  they  have  either  as 
sumed  a  false  character,  or  they  must  in  some  measure  be 
acquainted  with  the  Constitutional  rights  of  Englishmen, 
and  those  of  their  own  Province.  For  them  to  present  such 
an  address  is  a  daring  affront  to  common-sense,  a  high  in 
sult  on  all  others  of  the  profession,  and  a  treason  against 
law;  and  from  that  learned  profession  who  are  supposed  to 
be  well  acquainted  with  the  English  Constitution,  and  have 
the  best  means  and  are  under  the  greatest  advantages  to 
defend  the  rights  of  society,  and  who  have  been  famed  as 
the  greatest  supporters  of  English  liberties,— for  any  of  them 
to  make  a  sacrifice  of  their  all  to  this  pagod  of  vanity  and 
fulsome  adulation,  is  mean,  vile,  and  unpardonable,  and 
cannot  be  accounted  for  upon  any  other  principles  but  those 
of  their  master,  who  would  sacrifice  his  country  to  be  the 
independent  head  of  a  respectable  Province,  and  the  few 
leaders  of  this  infamous  law  band  would,  it  seems,  give 
their  aid  and  support  therein  to  obtain  the  first  places  in  this 
new  kingdom.  The  addressing  clergy  we  leave  to  the  re 
proaches  of  their  own  consciences,  but  lament  to  find  they 
are  the  first  in  their  ignominious  homage  to  their  idol." 

In  September  of  this  year,  1774,  a  Dr.  Beebe  was  "tarred 
and  feathered  "  at  East  Hampton,  on  the  charge  of  being  a 
Tory.  He  could  not  obtain  a  warrant  of  arrest  against  the 
perpetrators  of  the  outrage,  from  a  magistrate,  the  latter 
excusing  himself  on  the  ground  that  it  could  not  be  ex 
ecuted. 

On  the  15th  September,  1774,  a  delegate  meeting  was  held 
at  Hartford,  representing  the  counties  of  Hartford,  New 
London,  and  Windham,  and  a  part  of  the  county  of  Litch- 
field.  A  pledge  was  given  that  they  would  strictly  observe 
a  non -importation  agreement  about  to  be  entered  into  by 
the  Continental  Congress;  and  denouncing  in  advance  all 
who  should  attempt  to  disregard  it. 

The  following  is  the  report  of  the  proceedings: 

"At  a  meeting  of  delegates  from  the  towns  ir  the  coun 
ties  of  Hartford,  New  London,  and  Windham,  and  a  part  of 
the  county  of  Litchfield,  held  at  Hartford,  in  Connecticut, 
on  the  15th  of  September,  1774. 

"  William  Wolcott,  Esq.,  chairman. 

"Captain  Samuel  Wyllys,  Clerk. 

"This  meeting,  taking  into  their  serious  consideration  the 
absolute  necessity  of  a  non-consumption  agreement,  as  shall 
be  recommended  by  the  general  Congress  of  Delegates,  from 
all  the  free  British  Colonies  in  America,  now  convened  at 
Philadelphia,  and  also  that  their  opinion  and  resolution 
thereon  hath  not  been  yet  fully  made  known  to  the  dele 
gates  from  this  Colony,  in  said  Congress,  Do  declare  and 
resolve, 


152  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

''That,  in  case  the  .said  general  Congress  shall  recommend 
a  non-imnortation  of  British  goods  only,  or  of  British  and 
West  India  goods,  we  will  enter  into  a  solemn  contract  and 
agreement  not  to  purchase  or  consume  any  articles  that 
shall  be  prohibited  by  such  non-importation  agreement,  and 
use  our  utmost  endeavors  to  render  the  same  general  and 
effectual ;  and  we  do  hereby  make  known  that  we  have  in 
general  been  assured  by  the  towns  we  represent  that  they 
will  readily  accede  to  adopt  and  religiously  observe  such 
non- consumption  agreement  as  aforesaid. 

44  And  whereas,  This  meeting  is  informed  that  great  quan 
tities  of  English  and  India  goods  are  ordered  by  sundry 
sordid  and  avaricious  men  in  our  neighboring  Colonies  to 
be  purchased  in  England  and  imported  this  fall  to  give  them 
an  unreasonable  advantage  and  prevent  the  salutary  effects 
of  a  non-importation  agreement,, 

"Resolved,  That  such  mercenary  wretches  whose  avarice 
can  seek  for  gratification  in  the  distress  and  ruin  of  their 
country  are  wholly  unworthy  of  our  confidence,  friendship, 
or  support;  and  that  our  non-consumption  agreement  may 
be  useful  to  any  good  purpose,  we  will  not  purchase  any 
merchandise  of  them,  or  transact  any  business  for  them,  or 
suffer  them  to  transact  any  for  us,  but  will  wholly  withdraw 
from  them,  and  leave  them  to  the  consolation  of  possessing 
and  contemplating  the  curious  movements  of  British  indus 
try  and  American  slavery,  which  they  would  so  greedily 
amass  to  themselves  for  such  sordid  and  wicked  purposes; 
and  shall  consider  in  the  same  light,  and  treat  in  the  same 
manner,  every  person  that  shall  purchase  any  such  goods  of 
them,  or  do  business  for  them,  or  employ  them  in  their 
business. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Committee  .of  Correspondence  for 
the  several  towns  were  present  be  desired  to  make  diligent 
inquiry  after  the  persons  who  have  ordered  goods  as  afore 
said,  and  inform  the  next  county  and  Colony  meeting  of 
what  they  shall  discover,  that  their  names  may  be  published, 
their  conduct  exposed,  and  their  persons  avoided. 

"Resolved,  That  if  any  merchant  or  trader  in  the  towns 
aforesaid  shall  attempt  to  engross  any  great  or  unusual 
quantity  of  goods,  with  design  to  forestall  and  elude  a  non 
importation  agreement,  we  will  find  ways  and  means,  with 
out  violating  his  private  rights,  to  defeat  his  views  and  make 
him  sensible  that  virtue  and  public  spirit  will  be  more  for 
his  interest  than  low  selfishness  and  avarice  can  be.  These 
measures,  dictated  by  necessity,  we  enter  upon  for  the  pres 
ervation  of  our  liberties,  which  we  have  received  from  our 
Creator;  and  may  not  resign  or  suffer  to  be  ravished  from 
us.  At  the  same  time  it  is  the  warmest  wish  of  our  hearts 
that  the  wisdom  and  equity  of  the  British  Parliament  may 
relieve  us  from  our  fears  and  danger,  and  that  we  may  once 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  153 

more  and  forever  look  up  to  our  parent  country  with  con 
fidence  and  pleasure,  and,  secure  of  our  own  rights,  con 
tribute  all  in  our  power  to  promote  the  honor,  interest,  and 
happiness  of  our  elder  brethren  in  Great  Britain ;  and, 

' '  Whereas,  We  cannot  yet  be  advised  what  measures  the 
general  Congress  will  recommend,  and  therefore  are  unable 
at  present  to  adjust  the  particulars  of  a  non-consumption 
agreement,  we  think  it  may  be  of  use  to  the  merchants  and 
traders  in  the  aforesaid  towns  to  bs  made  acquainted  with 
our  resolutions  aforesaid,  and  that  we  determine  in  proper 
time  to  carry  them  into  execution, 

"Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  be  given  the 
Committee  of  Correspondence  for  the  town  of  Hartford,  for 
their  care  and  attention  to  the  interest  of  the  public  in  call 
ing  this  meeting ;  and  that  they  be  desired  to  call  a  Colony 
meeting  at  a  suitable  time  and  place  to  finish  the  business 
now  begun  and  entered  upon,  taking  the  advice  of  the  Com 
mittee  of  Correspondence  for  the  towns  of  Windsor,  Weth- 
ersfield,  and  Middletown  therein. 

u  The  foregoing  resolutions  voted  and  passed,  nemine  con- 
tradicente. 

"  SAMUEL  WYLLYS, 

"  Clerk  of  the  Meeting." 

On  the  4th  September,  a  false  report,  which  was  spread 
over  Connecticut,  to  the  effect  that  the  British  troops  had 
attacked  the  people  of  Boston  and  killed  several  citizens, 
served  to  bring  out  the  determined  spirit  of  the  people  of 
Connecticut.  Before  the  rumor  could  be  contradicted, 
many  thousand  men  were  under  arms,  and  were  marching 
or  ready  to  march  to  the  defence  of  that  town. 

Stamford  (Connecticut)  Town  Meeting. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Stamford, 
legally  warned  and  convened,  on  the  7th  day  of  October, 
1774: 

"The  inhabitants  of  this  town,  sensibly  affected  with  the 
distresses  to  which  the  town  of  Boston  and  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  are  subjected  by  several  late  unconstitu 
tional  acts  of  the  British  Parliament,  and  also  viewing  the 
Quebec  Bill,  whereby  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  is  estab 
lished  over  a  great  part  of  his  Majesty's  extensive  continent 
of  America,  as  an  attempt  not  barely  to  destroy  our  civil 
liberties,  but  as  an  open  declaration  that  our  religious  priv 
ileges,  which  our  fathers  fled  their  native  country  to  enjoy, 
are  very  soon  to  be  abolished  (hoping  to  convince  the  people 
of  this  extensive  continent  that,  notwithstanding  our  long 
silence,  we  are  by  no  means  unwilling  to  join  with  our  sister- 
towns  to  assert  our  just  rights  and  oppose  every  design  of  a 
corrupt  Ministry  to  enslave  America),  do  declare  that  we  ac 
knowledge  our  subjection  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  and 


154  THE  BIRTH:  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

all  the  constitutional  powers  thereto  belonging,  as  estab 
lished  in  the  illustrious  house  of  Hanover,  and  that  it  is  our 
earnest  desire  that  the  same  peaceable  connection  should 
subsist  between  us  and  the  mother-country  that  has  sub 
sisted  for  a  long  time  before  the  late  unconstitutional  meas 
ures  adopted  by  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britian ;  and  we 
hope  that  some  plan  will  be  found  out  by  the  General  Con 
gress  to  effect  the  reconciliation  we  wish  for ;  yet  we  are 
determined  in  every  lawful  way  to  join  with  our  sister-Colo 
nies  resolutely  to  defend  our  just  rights  and  oppose  all  illegal 
and  unconstitutional  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  that  re 
spect  America. 

"That  we  are  pleased  that  a  Congress  of  Deputies  from  the 
Colonies  is  now  met  at  Philadelphia,  and,  relying  upon  the 
wisdom  of  that  body,  we  declare  that  we  are  ready  to  adopt 
such  reasonable  measures  as  shall  by  them  be  judged  for  the 
general  good  of  the  inhabitants  of  America. 

"Voted,  That  Messrs.  John  Lloyd  and  Samuel  Hutton, 
Captain  Samuel  Young,  Captain  David  Hait,  and  Charles 
Weed,  be  a  committee  to  receive  subscriptions  for  the 
supply  of  the  poor  in  the  town  of  Boston  who  suffer  in  con 
sequence  of  an  act  of  Parliament  called  the  Port  Act ;  and 
that  the  said  committee  cause  anything  that  shall  be  col 
lected  to  be  transported  to  the  care  of  the  Committee  of 
Ways  and  Means  in  the  town  of  Boston,  to  be  employed  by 
them  as  they  shall  think  fit.  The  above  is  a  true  copy  of 
record,  it  being  a  very  full  meeting— almost  an  unanimous 
vote.  S.  JARVTS, 

"Town  Clerk." 

Danbury  (Connecticut}  Town  Meeting. 

"  At  a  legal  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
Danbury  in  Connecticut,  December  12,  1774, 

"Captain  Thomas  Stevens,  Moderator, 

"The  town  took  into  consideration  the  present  alarming 
situation  of  the  American  Colonies  from  several  late  uncon 
stitutional  and  oppressive  acts  of  the  British  Parliament, 
and  feeling  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  our  common 
danger,  we  should  have  earlier  manifested  our  sense  of  the 
natural  and  constitutional  rights  we  are  or  ought  to  be 
possessed  of,  and  of  the  wanton  infringement  made  upon 
them  by  the  oppressive  plan  of  policy  now  prosecuting  by 
the  British  Ministry,  were  it  not  that  we  thought  there  was 
the  greatest  propriety  in  waiting  till  they  were  stated  by  a 
general  Congress  lest,  by  every  town's  attempting  particu 
larly  to  state  them,  there  might  be  a  disagreement  in  their 
claims,  which  might  occasion  disunion  among  ourselves  and 
give  cause  of  triumph  to  our  enemies.  But  pur  rights  and 
the  infringements  of  them  having  been  particularly  stated 
by  the  late  American  Congress,  in  their  resolutions,  or  Bill 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  155 

of  Rights,  which,  from  the  best  knowledge  and  information 
we  are  able  to  obtain,  we  apprehend  to  be  accurately  and 
judiciusly  done  ; — we  do  therefore, — 

u(l)  Declare  our  full  concurrence  with  said  resolutions,  as 
trully  stating  the  rights  and  privileges  we  mean  to  defend, 
and  the  oppressive  infringements  we  mean  to  oppose,  to  the 
extent  of  those  abilities  which  God  and  Nature  have  fur 
nished  us  with. 

"(2)  We  do  heartily  approve  of  the  Association  containing 
a  non-importation,  non-exportation,  and  non-consumption 
agreement,  entered  into  by  the  General  Congress  as  the 
most  salutary,  wise,  and  probable  measure  for  obtaining 
redress  of  the  grievances  we  labor  under;  and  will  use  our 
utmost  endeavors  to  render  the  same  effectual  by  a  full 
compliance  therewith  ourselves,  and  by  treating  with  de 
served  neglect  any  one  who  shall  dare,  in  opposition  to  the 
voice  of  America,  by  counteracting  this  agreement,  to  seek 
his  own  emolument  to  the  endangering  the  liberties  of  his 
country.  And,  that  such  as  break  through  this  agreement 
and  refuse  to  be  reclaimed  by  gentler  means,  may  be  held 
up  to  public  view  as  objects  to  be  shunned  and  avoided  by 
every  friend  to  liberty  and  lover  of  his  country,  we  have 
appointed  the  following  gentlemen  a  committee  for  the  pur 
pose  specified  in  the  eleventh  article  of  said  Association,  via. : 
Doctor  John  Wood,  Thaddeus  Benedict,  and  Daniel  Taylor, 
Esqrs.,  Lieutenant  Noble  Benedict,  Colonel  Joseph  Platt 
Cook,  Captain  Silas  Hamilton,  Samuel  Taylor,  Esq.,  Messrs. 
Andrew  Comstock,  James  Sisly,  Daniel  Benedict,  and  Rich 
ard  Shute,  Captain  Thomas  Stevens,  and  Mr.  Joseph  Bebee. 

"(4)  It  is  with  singular  pleasure  we  notice  the  second 
article  of  the  Association,  in  which  it  is  agreed  to  import  no 
more  negro  slaves,  as  we  cannot  but  think  it  a  palpable 
absurdity  so  loudly  to  complain  of  attempts  to  enslave  us, 
while  we  are  actually  enslaving  others ;  and  that  we  have 
great  reason  to  apprehend  the  enslaving  the  Africans  is  one 
of  the  crying  sins  of  our  land,  for  which  Heaven  is  now  chas 
tising  us.  We  notice  also  with  pleasure  the  late  act  of  our 
General  Assembly  imposing  a  fine  of  one  hundred  pounds 
on  any  one  who  shall  import  a  negro  slave  into  this  Colony. 
We  could  also  wish  that  something  further  might  be  done 
for  the  relief  of  such  as  are  now  in  a  state  of  slavery  in  the 
Colonies,  and  such  as  may  hereafter  be  born  of  parents  in 
that  unhappy  condition. 

"(5)  As  we  look  upon  the  town  of  Boston  to  be  suffering  in 
the  common  cause  of  American  liberty,  we  would  manifest 
our  hearty  sympathy  with  them  in  their  present  calamitous 
state,  and  readiness  to  administer,  to  the  relief  of  their  suffer 
ing  poor,  according  to  our  abilities;  and  do  accordingly 
recommend  to  the  several  inhabitants  of  this  town  to  con 
tribute  liberally  of  money  or  provisions.  For  this  purpose 


156  THE  BIRTH  Off  THE  REPUBLIC. 

we  have  appointed  Captain  Daniel  Starr,  Messrs.  John 
McLean,  Zadock  Benedict,  and  Andrew  Comstock  a  com 
mittee  to  receive  such  donations  and  transmit  the  same  to 
the  committee  appointed  to  receive  them  in  the  town  of 
Boston.  Our  being  so  late  in  contributing  to  their  relief 
hath  not  arisen  from  our  haying  been  unconcerned  specta 
tors  of  their  distressed  condition;  but  hearing  of  the  lauda 
ble  zeal  of  others,  we  were  ready  to  conclude  there  was  a 
sufficient  present  supply,  and  that  our  donations  would  be 
more  needed  and  more  acceptable  in  some  future  time. 
"Voted  by  a  large  majority. 

"MAJOR  TAYLOR, 

"  Town  Clerk." 

FAIRFIELD   (CONNECTICUT)   COMMITTEE. 

"  A£  a  legal  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Fair- 
field,  Connecticut,  held  by  adjournment  on  the  29th  day  of 
December,  A.D.  1774, 

" Ebenezer  Silliman,  Esq.,  Moderator, 

"  This  meeting  haying  duly  considered  the  agreement  and 
association  entered  into  by  the  Continental  Congress  lately 
held  at  Philadelphia,  do  heartily  approve  thereof  and  adopt 
the  same,  and  take  this  opportunity  to  express  their  most 
grateful  sense  of  the  good  services  of  the  worthy  delegates 
from  this  Colony  who  attended  said  Congress. 

"Voted,  That  if  any  person  or  persons  shall  directly  or 
indirectly,  with  intent  to  dissuade,  disunite,  or  otherwise 
prevent  us  from  strictly  complying  with  and  conforming  to 
said  agreement  and  association,  publish,  send,  or  sell,  or 
otherwise  dispose  of  any  books,  pamphlets,  or  publications 
in  this  town  directly  tending  thereto,  such  person  or  persons 
shall  be  dealt  with  and  exposed  in  the  same  way  and  man 
ner  as  is  prescribed  in  said  eleventh  article  for  such  person 
or  persons  as  violate  said  agreement  and  association." 

Mr.  Hollister,  the  historian,  whose  narrative  has  been 
followed,  states  that  the  battle  of  Lexington,  "growing  out 
of  an  attempt  to  seize  military  stores,  led  to  a  movement, 
originating  in  Connecticut,  and  paid  for  out  of  the  treasury 
of  that  Colony,  that  resulted  in  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga, 
and  in  the  seizure  of  all  its  guns  and  munitions  for  the  use 
of  the  Colonies.  The  general  Assembly  was  in  session  when 
the  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  reached  Hartford,  and 
the  plan  was  entered  into  of  surprising  Ticonderoga,  without 
any  ostensible  action  of  the  Assembly,  but  with  their  tacit 
assent. 

"  Several  gentlemen  borrowed  money,  to  pay  the  expenses 
of  the  expedition,  from  the  Colonial  treasury,  and  gave  their 
individual  obligations  with  security." 

The  names  of  the  signers  to  the  notes  were  Samuel  Holden, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  157 

Parsons,  Silas  Deane,  Samuel  Wyllis,  Samuel  Bishop,  Jr., 
William  Williams,  Thomas  Munford,  Adam  Babcock,  Joshua 
Porter,  Jesse  Boot,  Ezekiel  Williams,  and  Charles  Wells. 
The  amount  borrowed  was  810  pounds ;  and  two  years  after 
wards,  the  notes  were  cancelled  by  order  of  the  Assembly. 

"A  Committee  was  appointed  by  the  leaders  of  this  dar 
ing  project,"  continues  Hollister,  "to  complete  all  the  ar 
rangements.  This  Committee  selected  sixteen  Connecticut 
men,  and  then  proceeded  to  Berkshire,  where  they  elicited 
the  sympathy  and  co  operation  of  some  of  the  principal  gen 
tlemen  of  the  place,  and  a  re-enforcement  of  about  forty 
men.  They  then  advanced  to  Bennington,  where  they  were 
joined  by  Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  Seth  Warner,  and  about  one 
hundred  volunteers.  After  stopping  there  long  enough  to 
bake  bread  and  provide  themselves  with  such  other  neces 
saries  as  they  needed,  this  little  company  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  picked  men  followed  Colonel  Allen  to  Castleton, 
whither  he  had  preceded  them  with  a  view  of  raising  more 
troops." 

At  Castleton  they  met  Colonel  Allen  with  reinforcements, 
and  "Their  numbers  now  amounted  to  two  hundred  and 
seventy  men,  most  of  them  Green  Mountain  boys,  who,  born 
in  Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire,  and 
inured  to  the  rough  warfare  of  border  life,  in  contending 
with  the  executive  officers,  and  defying  the  authority  of  the 
Provincial  legislature  of  New  York,  had  become  wild  and 
free  in  all  their  actions  and  opinions  as  the  green  ridges 
whence  they  took  their  name.  Sentries  were  now  posted 
on  all  the  roads  leading  to  Ticonderoga,  to  prevent  the  news 
of  the  enterprise  being  carried  to  the  garrison  by  the  Tor 
ies." 

At  this  point  the  party  was  joined  by  Benedict  Arnold, 
who  had  been  commissioned  as  a  colonel  by  the  Massachu 
setts  authorities;  but  as  he  brought  no  troops  with  him, 
Allen  very  properly  refused  to  give  way  to  him,  but  agreed 
to  accept  him  as  an  aid.  The  fort,  which  was  garrisoned  by 
about  fifty  men  and  officers,  was  surprised  by  Allen,  and 
surrendered  at  discretion  almost  without  bloodshed.  This 
event  happened  May  10,  1775.  Crown  Point,  garrisoned 
by  only  a  sergeant  "and  twelve  men,  surrendered  on  the 
same  day  to  Captain  Warner. 

A  British  sloop  of  war  lay  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  Chain- 
plain.  A  plan  was  formed  for  its  capture.  A  small  schooner 
was  armed  and  fitted  out,  of  which  Arnold  was  put  in  com 
mand.  Allen  commanded  some  batteaux  which  were  to 
accompany  the  schooner  and  aid  in  the  attack.  But  Arnold 
sailed  far  ahead  and  without  difficulty,  surprised  and  cap 
tured  the  sloop,  though  larger  and  better  armed  than  the 
assailant.  So  the  whole  expedition  was  a  success,  and  in 
fused  great  enthusiasm  throughout  the  Colonies.  The  arms 


158  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

and  ammunition  captured  made  a  very  considerable  addi 
tion  to  the  meagre  equipments  of  the  Americans  Hollister 
concludes  his  account  of  those  events  as  follows:  "  It  was, 
as  we  have  seen,  from  the  beginning  a  Connecticut  measure, 
conceived  by  gentlemen  from  that  Colony,  approved  by  her 
general  Assembly,  carried  out  by  officers  who  were  born  in 
her  towns  of  Litchfield,  Woodbury,  and  Norwich,  and  paid 
for,  as  our  State  papers  still  show,  from  her  treasury.  Thus 
Connecticut  had  the  honor,  of  which  neither  envy  nor  false 
hood  have  been  quite  able  to  rob  her,  of  striking  the  first 
aggressive  blow  at  the  British  power  in  America."  But  Con 
necticut  will  generously  concede  to  the  people  who  inhabit 
ed  the  disputed  territory  which  afte  wards  became  the  State 
of  Vermont  a  large  share  in  the  glory  of  this  achievement. 

Connecticut  had  the  honor,  among  all  the  Colonies,  of 
having  the  only  patriot  Governor  at  the  commencement  of 
hostilities.  This  was  Jonathan  Trumbull.  Like  Rhode 
Island,  she  had  always  enjoyed  the  right,  under  her  charter, 
of  electing  her  Governors,  which  fact  accounts  for  the  singu 
lar  distinction.  When  news  arrived  of  the  battle  of  Lexing 
ton,  he  immediately  "despatched  a  messenger  to  Colonel 
Putnam,  directing  him  to  repair  forthwith  to  Lebanon." 
Like  Cincinnatus,  the  Connecticut  hero,  when  called  to  the 
defence  of  his  country,  was  found  at  the  plow-handles ;  and 
left  the  plow  in  the  unfinished  furrow,  and,  after  giving 
some  hasty  directions  to  his  servants,  hurried  home, 
mounted  his  horse,  and  rode  off  at  a  full  gallop.  He  found 
the  "  rebel  Governor"  ready  to  receive  him.  The  interview 
was  brief.  "  Hasten  forward  to  Concord,"  said  his  Excel 
lency  ;  * '  don't  stay  for  troops.  I  will  take  care  of  that — 
hurry  forward,  and  I  will  send  the  troops  after  you." 
These  initial  facts  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the  spirit  which 
animated  the  leading  men  of  Connecticut,  without  following 
up  the  brilliant  history  of  their  actions. 

On  the  14th  June,  1776,  Governor  Trumbull  convoked 
"the  general  Assembly  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of 
the  English  Colony  of  Connecticut,  in  New  England,  in 
America."  On  the  same  day  the  following  preamble  and 
resolution  was  adopted. 

"  Instructions  to  Connecticut  Delegates  in  the  Continental 
Congress,  to  vote  for  independence. 

CONNECTICUT  ASSEMBLY,  i 
June  14,  17T6. 

"  Whereas,  the  King  and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  by 
many  acts  of  said  Parliament,  have  claimed  and  attempted 
to  exercise  powers  incompatible  with  and  subversive  or  the 
ancient,  just,  and  constitutional  rights  of  this  and  the  other 
English  Colonies  in  America,  and  have  refused  to  listen  to 
their  many  and  frequent  humble,  decent,  and  dutiful  peti 
tions  for  redress  of  grievances  and  restoration  of  such  their 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  159 

rights  and  liberties;  and,  turning  from  them  with  neglect 
and  contempt  to  support  such  claims,  after  a  series  of  accu 
mulated  wrong  and  injury,  have  proceeded  to  invade  said 
Colonies  with  fleets  and  armies  to  destroy  our  towns,  shed 
the  blood  of  our  countrymen,  and  involve  us  in  the  calam 
ities  incident  to  war ;  and  are  endeavoring  to  reduce  us  to 
an  abject  surrender  of  our  natural  and  stipulated  rights,  and 
subject  our  property  to  the  most  precarious  dependence  on 
their  arbitrary  will  and  pleasure,  and  our  persons  to  slavery ; 
and  have  at  length  declared  us  out  of  the  King's  protection ; 
have  engaged  foreign  mercenaries  against  us,  and  are  evi 
dently  and  strenuously  striving  to  effect  our  ruin  and  de 
struction;— these  and  many  other  transactions,  too  well 
known  to  need  enumeration,  the  painful  experience  of  which 
we  have  suffered  and  feel,  make  it  evident,  beyond  the  pos 
sibility  of  a  doubt,  that  we  have  nothing  to  hope  from  the 
justice,  humanity,  or  temperate  councils  of  the  British 
King  or  his  Parliament ;  and  that  all  hopes  of  reconciliation 
upon  just  and  equal  terms  are  illusory  and  vain.  In  this 
state  of  extreme  danger,  when  no  alternative  is  left  us  but 
absolute  and  indefinite  submission  to  such  claims  as  must 
terminate  in  the  extreme  of  misery  and  wretchedness,  or 
a  total  separation  from  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  and 
renunciation  of  all  connection  with  that  nation,  and  a  suc 
cessful  resistance  to  that  force  which  is  intended  to  effect 
our  destruction ;  appealing  to  that  God  who  knows  the  se 
crets  of  all  hearts,  for  the  sincerity  of  former  declarations  of 
our  desire  to  preserve  our  ancient  and  constitutional  rela 
tion  to  that  country,  and  protesting  solemnly  against  their 
oppression  and  injustice  which  have  drawn  us  from  them, 
and  compelled  us  to  use  such  means  as  God  in  his  provi 
dence  hath  put  in  our  power  for  our  necessary  defence  and 
preservation, — 

"Eesolved  unanimously  by  this  Assembly,  that  the  Dele 
gates  of  this  Colony,  in  General  Congress,  be  and  they  are 
hereby  instructed  to  propose  to  that  respectable  body  to  de 
clare  the  United  Colonies  free  and  independent  States,  ab 
solved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  and 
to  give  the  assent  of  this  Colony  to  such  Declaration  when 
they  shall  judge  it  expedient  and  best,  and  to  whatever  meas 
ures  may  be  thought  proper  and  necessary  by  the  Congress 
for  forming  foreign  alliances,  or  any  plan  of  operations  for 
necessary  and  mutual  defence ;  and  also  that  they  move  and 
promote,  as  fast  as  may  be  convenient,  a,  regular  and  perma 
nent  plan  of  Union  and  Confederation  cf  the  Colonies  for  the 
security  and  preservation  of  their  just  rights  and  liberties, 
and  for  mutual  defence  and  security :  caving  that  the  admin 
istration  of  government,  and  the  power  of  forming  govern 
ments  for,  and  the  regulation  of,  the  internal  concerns  and 
police  of  each  Colony  ought  to  be  left  and  remain  to  the  re- 


160  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

spective  Colonial  legislatures,  and  also  that  such  plan  of 
confederation  be  laid  before  such  respective  legislatures  for 
their  previous  considerations  and  assent." 

RHODE  ISLAND. 

The  enactment  of  the  duty  on  tea  in  May,  1767,  by  Parlia 
ment  was  the  signal  for  the  renewal  of  angry  controversy 
between  the  Colonies  and  the  mother-country.  There  had 
existed  an  export  duty  on  this  article,  of  one  shilling  per 
pound,  which  was  in  reality  as  great  an  infringement  of  the 
rights  of  the  Colonies  as  the  more  direct  duty  which  was 
substituted  in  its  place.  Great  Britain  might  lawfully  de 
clare  that  no  tea  should  be  re-exported  from  her  shores  to 
foreign  nations  without  paying  a  tax ;  but  to  require  it  on 
teas  sent  to  her  Colonies,  which  Colonies  at  the  same  time 
were  not  allowed  to  buv  in  other  than  English  markets,  was 
as  arbitrary  and  as  unjust  as  the  direct  tax  which  the  Act 
of  1767  required  to  be  collected  in  the  Colonial  ports.  The 
new  act  was  really  an  abatement  of  the  amount  of  the  tax, 
as  it  only  imposed  threepence  per  pound.  But  it  was  a  di 
rect  and  offensive  mode  of  asserting  the  right  of  the  Parlia 
ment  to  tax  the  Colonies  "  in  all  cases  whatsoever  "—a  decla 
ration  which  accompanied  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.  The 
roundabout  mode  of  collecting  twelvepence  in  England  on 
the  export  of  tea,  although  four  times  heavier  than  the  im 
port  duty  of  threepence,  to  be  collected  in  the  Colonial  ports, 
by  men  sent  from  England,  was  felt  to  be  a  more  intolerable 
burthen.  And  whereas  the  greater  tax  thus  imposed  might 
have  been  borne  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time  without  se 
rious  complaint,  the  lesser  became  the  signal  for  resistance 
from  one  end  of  the  Continent  to  the  other,  and,  more  than 
any  other  one  measure  of  government,  caused  the  triumph 
ant  Revolution  and  the  loss  of  "the  brightest  jewel  in  the 
British  Crown."  The  American  Revolution  was  achieved  on 
a  principle,  as  well  as  on  account  of  the  practical  and  serious 
injuries  that  were  inflicted  on  the  Colonists. 

The  publication  of  the  new  Revenue  Act,  in  October,  1767, 
in  the  Colonies,  was  immediately  followed  by  public  meet 
ings,  first  in  Boston,  and  then  in  Providence  and  Newport,  in 
which  "it  was  resolved  to  discontinue  the  use  of  British 
goods  and  the  consumption  of  all  unnecessary  articles." 
"  Thus  the  combination  spread  rapidly  throughout  the  Colo 
nies,  and  the  agreements  were  everywhere  signed."  The 
Assembly  reasserted  the  exclusive  right  of  the  Colonies  to 
tax  themselves,  and  enacted  "that  special  courts  and  Com 
mon  Pleas  might  be  held  for  the  Custom-house  officers 
charged  with  violations  of  the  fee  list  established  by  the 
Colony,  or  with  neglect  of  duty ;  the  decision  of  such  courts 
to  be  final," 


THE  BIRTH  OF  TEE  REPUBLIC.  161 

In  July,  1769,  "the  British  armed  sloop  Liberty,  Captain 
Wm.  Reid,  cruising  in  Long  Island  Sound  and  Narragansett 
Bay,  in  search  of  contraband  traders,  had  needlessly  annoyed 
all  the  coasting  craft  that  came  in  her  way.  Two  Connecti 
cut  vessels,  a  brig  and  a  sloop,  were  brought  into  Newport 
on  suspicion  of  smuggling.  An  altercation  ensued  between 
the  captain  of  the  brig  and  some  of  the  Liberty's  crew,  in 
which  the  former  was  maltreated  and  his  boat  fired  upon 
from  the  vessel.  The  same  evening  the  people  obliged  Reid, 
while  on  the  wharf,  to  order  all  his  men,  except  the  first  of 
ficer,  to  come  on  shore  to  answer  for  their  conduct.  A  party 
then  boarded  the  Liberty,  sent  the  officer  on  shore,  cut  the 
cable,  and  grounded  the  sloop  at  the  Point.  There  they  cut 
away  the  mast  and  scuttled  the  vessel,  and  then  carried  her 
boats  to  the  upper  end  of  the  town  and  burnt  them.  This 
was  the  first  overt  act  of  violence  offered  to  the  British  au 
thorities  in  America.  Meanwhile  the  two  prizes  got  under 
way  and  escaped.  Governor  Wanton,  at  the  request  of  the 
collector  and  comptroller,  issued  a  proclamation  for  the  ar 
rest  of  the  offenders,  and  the  Revenue  Board  at  Boston  of 
fered  a  reward  of  one  hundred  pounds  sterling  to  any  one 
who  would  inform  against  them ;  but  without  effect."— See 
Arnold,  vol.  2,  p.  207. 

In  1772,  another  collision  between  the  British  Revenue 
Marine  and  the  people,  similar  to  the  affair  of  the  Liberty, 
but  on  a  greater  scale,  occurred.  In  the  spring  of  that  year 
the  people  vyere  greatly  annoyed  by  the  British  schooner 
Gaspee,  of  eight  guns,  which  with  the  Beaver  had  been  sta 
tioned  in  Narragansett  Bay  to  enforce  the  revenue  laws. 
"Lieutenant  Duddingston,  the  commander,  had  practised 
every  annoyance  upon  vessels  in  the  Bay,  detaining  them 
often  without  a  colorable  pretext,  stopping  even  market 
boats,  and  in  some  cases  plundering  the  people  on  shore. 
He  had  violated  the  Charter  of  the  Colony  in  acting  without 
showing  his  commission,  and  had  exceeded  his  authority  by 
making  illegal  seizures  and  sending  captured  property  to 
Boston  for  trial,  contrary  to  an  act  of  Parliament  that  re 
quired  such  trials  to  be  held  in  the  Colony  where  the  seizure 
was  made."  Chief  Justice  Hopkins  gave  the  opinion  "  that 
no  commander  of  any  vessel  has  a  right  to  use  any  authority 
in  the  body  of  the  Colony  without  previously  applying  to 
the  Governor  and  showing  his  warrant  for  so  doing,  and  also 
being  sworn  to  a  due  exercise  of  his  office."  The  Governor 
accordingly  sent  the  sheriff  on  board  the  schooner,  u  with  a 
letter  to  the  commanding  officer,  requiring  him  to  produce 
his  commission  and  instructions."  Duddington  returned  an 
arrogant  reply,  and  inclosed  the  correspondence  to  Admiral 
Montagu,  at  Boston.  The  Admiral  sustained  the  Lieutenant, 
and  addressed  an  insolent  letter  to  Governor  Wanton,  in 
which  he  threatened,  if  an  attempt  were  made  to  rescue  the 


162  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

prizes,  that  he  would  "hang  as  pirates"  the  parties  con 
cerned.  The  Governor  replied,  with  spirit,  "that  I  do  not 
receive  instructions  for  the  administration  of  my  govern 
ment  from  the  King's  Admiral  stationed  in  America ; "  and 
having  laid  the  correspondence  before  the  Assembly,  that 
body  sent  copies  of  it  to  England,  with  a  narrative  of  the 
events  to  which  it  related. 

At  length  "The  sloop  Hannah,  Captain  Benjamin  Lindsey, 
from  New  York,  arrived  at  Newport,  reported  at  the  Custom 
house,  and  the  next  day  proceeded  up  the  river.  The  Gas- 

Namquit,  since 
the  Hannah  es- 
sunset.  The  sit 
uation  of  the  enemy"  was  soon  proclaimed  by  beat  of  drum, 
calling  those  who  desired  to  go  and  destroy  the  vessel  to 
meet  that  evening  at  the  house  of  James  Sabin.  Eight  long 
boats,  with  five  oars  each,  were  provided  by  Mr.  John  Brown, 
and  soon  after  ten  o'clock  the  party  embarked  at  the  wharf 
directly  opposite  the  house  and  proceeded  with  muffled  oars, 
but  undisguised,  upon  their  daring  enterprise.  Captain 
Abraham  Whipple,  afterwards  Commodore,  who  three  years 
later  fired,  in  Narragansett  Bay,  the  first  American  broadside 
ever  discharged  at  any  portion  of  his  Majesty's  Navy,  com- 
manced  the  expedition.  It  was  long  past  midnight  when 
the  party  approached  the  vessel,  where  they  were  joined  by 
another  boat  from  Bristol.  Twice  the  hail  of  the  sentinel 
was  disregarded,  when  Duddingston  himself  leaping  on  the 
gunwale,  hailed  but  received  no  answer.  A  second  time  he 
hailed,  and  was  answered,  in  terms  energetic  and  profane,  by 
Whipple,  who  at  the  same  time  ordered  his  men  to  spring 
to  their  oars.  Shots  were  then  fired  from  the  vessel  and 
returned  by  the  boats.  While  Whipple  was  replying,  a  mus 
ket  ball,  fired  by  Joseph  Bucklin,  wounded  the  lieutenant  in 
the  groin,  and,  as  he  fell,  the  attacking  party  boarded  the 
schooner  at  the  bow,  and,  after  a  brief  struggle,  drove  the 
crew  below  and  became  masters  of  the  deck.  The  men  sur 
rendered,  were  bound,  and  put  on  shore.  Duddingston  was 
severely  wounded  in  the  arm  and  body.  He  was  attended 
by  Dr.  John  Mawney,  then  a  student  of  medicine,  who  ac 
companied  the  expedition  as  surgeon.  This  was  the  first 
British  blood  shed  in  the  war  of  independence. 

"It  was  near  daylight  when  the  lieutenant's  wounds, 
being  dressed,  he  was  landed  at  Pawtuxet,  and  the  captives, 
having  set  fire  to  the  vessel,  returned  to  Providence.  In  the 
flames  of  the  burning  Gaspee,  were  consumed  that  night  the 
last  hope  or  wish  of  pardon."— Arnold,  pp.  312,  313. 

Efforts  were  made,  by  the  offer  of  large  rewards  amount 
ing  to  several  hundred  pounds,  to  discover  and  punish  the 
ringleaders  in  this  bold  enterprise,  which  the  Ehode  Island 
ers  compare  with  the  Boston  tea  party.  But  although  the, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  163 

parties  were  well  known  as  among  the  most  respectable 
citizens  of  the  Colony,  no  direct  testimony  against  them 
could  be  obtained,  except  that  of  a  mulatto  slave  named 
Aaron  Briggs,  "who  was  engaged  in  the  expedition,  and 
afterwards  escaped  from  his  master  and  went  on  board  the 
Beaver."  He  came  near  exposing  the  whole  party,  "most 
of  whom  were  among  the  leading  men  in  Providence,  and 
some  from  Bristol. "  But  it  was  shown  to  the  Court  of  In 
quiry  that  his  testimony  was  given  under  compulsion,  to 
Captain  Linzee,  of  the  Beaver,  and  was  therefore  thrown  out. 
So  the  parties  engaged  all  escaped  even  a  trial,  although 
some  of  the  younger  among  them  had  boasted  of  their 
achievements. 

In  January,  1773,  Governor  Wanton  exhibited  to  the 
court  his  instructions  to  arrest  the  parties  engaged  in  the 
destruction  of  the  Gaspee,  and  send  them  to  England  for 
trial.  The  people  of  Ehode  Island  determined  to  resist  its 
enforcement.  Chief  Justice  Hopkins  consulted  the  Assem 
bly  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue,  and  was  advised  to 
use  his  own  discretion  when  the  case  arose.  * ' '  Then,  for  the 
purpose  of  transportation  for  trial,  I  will  neither  appre 
hend  any  person  by  my  own  order  nor  suffer  any  execu 
tive  officers  in  the  Colony  to  do  it,'  was  the  prompt  reply," 
says  Arnold, ' '  of  this  fearless  champion  and  earliest  advocate 
of  Colonial  freedom."  The  failure  to  identify  any  of  the 
parties  engaged  in  the  destruction  of  the  Gaspee  fortunately 
prevented  a  collision  between  the  Colonial  and  British  au 
thorities  at  this  time. 

In  May,  the  Assembly  unanimously  adopted  the  plan  of 
Virginia  for  forming  Committees  of  Correspondence,  which 
were  "to  obtain  the  most  early  and  authentic  intelligence 
of  all  such  acts  and  resolutions  of  the  British  Parliament, 
and  measures  of  the  Ministry,  as  may  relate  to  or  affect  the 
British  Colonies  in  America ;  and  to  maintain  a  correspond 
ence  and  communication  with  the  other  Colonies  respecting 
these  important  considerations. "  Warlike  precautions  were 
also  taken  at  this  time.  The  platforms  for  the  battery  at 
Fort  George  were  repaired,  and  new  carriages  were  niade 
for  the  guns  formerly  used  on  the  Colony  war  sloop. 

In  January,  1774,  the  people  of  Newport  and  the  other 
towns  in  Rhode  Island,  following  the  example  of  Philadel 
phia,  "Resolved,  That  we  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
East  India  Company's  irksome  tea,  nor  any  other  subject 
to  the  like  duty,"  and,  further,  that  they  would  stand  with 
the  other  Colonies  in  vindicating  the  rights  of  America 
against  the  power  of  taxation  claimed  by  Great  Britain. 

May  17,  1774,  "The  people  of  Providence,  assembled  in 
town  meeting,  formally  proposed  the  last  remaining  act 
necessary  to  a  union  of  the  Colonies — the  Continental  Con 
gress.  The  id.ea  had  become  familiar  to  the  popular  mind ; 


164  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

it  had  been  proposed  in  the  addresses  of  public  speakers 
and  suggested  by  Committees  of  Correspondence ;  but  the 
formal  proposition  had  never  yet  been  made  by  any  respon 
sible  and  authorized  body.  The  movement  had  not  re 
ceived  the  sanction  of  any  legally  constituted  authority 
until  made  at  this  meeting  of  the  freemen  of  Providence." 
—Arnold,  vol.  2,  p.  334. 

The  author  further  says  that  "Rhode  Island,  as  she  had 
been  the  first,  through  the  means  of  town  meetings,  to  pro 
pose  a  Continental  Congress,  was  also  the  earliest  to  appoint 
delegates  to  attend  it.  It  is  significant  of  the  unanimity  of 
the  people  on  this  matter,  that  the  two  delegates  selected, 
were  the  ex-Governors  whose  rival  parties  had  for  so  many 
years  divided  the  Councils  of  the  Colony." 

"At  a  town  meetinglield  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  on 
the  17th  day  of  May,  A.D.  1774,  called  by  warrant, 

' '  Samuel  Nightengale,  Moderator, 

"Resolved,  That  this  town  will  heartily  join  with  the 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  the  other  Colonies, 
in  such  measures  as  shall  be  generally  agreed  on  by  the 
Colonies  for  the  protecting  and  securing  their  invaluable, 
natural  rights  and  privileges,  and  transmitting  the  same  to 
the  latest  posterity. 

"  That  the  deputies  of  this  town  be  requested  to  use  their 
influence  at  the  approaching  session  of  the  General  Assem 
bly  of  this  Colony  for  promoting  a  Congress  as  soon  as  may 
be,  of  the  representatives  of  the  General  Assemblies  of  the 
several  Colonies  and  Provinces  of  North  America,  for  estab 
lishing  the  firmest  union,  and  adopting  such  measures  as  to 
them  shall  appear  the  most  effectual  to  answer  that  import 
ant  purpose,  and  to  agree  upon  proper  methods  for  execut 
ing  the  same. 

"  That  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  this  town  be 
desired  to  assure  the  town  of  Boston  that  we  do  consider 
ourselves  greatly  interested  in  the  present  alarming  conduct 
of  the  British  Parliament  towards  them,  and  view  the  whole 
English- American  Colonies  equally  concerned  in  the  event; 
and  that  we  will,  with  the  utmost  firmness,  act  aocordingly 
whenever  aiiy  plan  shall  be  agreed  on.  In  the  mean  time  we 
are  of  opinion  that  an  universal  stoppage  of  all  trade  with 
Great  Britain,  Ireland,  Africa,  and  the  West  Indies,  until 
such  time  as  the  port  of  Boston  shall  be  reinstated  in  its 
former  privileges,  etc.,  will  be  the  best  expedient  in  the  case; 
and  that  a  proper  time  should  be  generally  agreed  on  for  the 
same  universally  to  take  place. 

"Whereas,  The  inhabitants  of  America  are  engaged  in 
the  preservation  of  their  rights  and  liberties ;  and  as  personal 
liberty  is  an  essential  part  of  tlie  natural  rights  of  mankind, 
the  deputies  of  the  town  are  directed  to  use  their  endeavors 
to  obtain  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  prohibiting  the  im- 


TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  165 

portation  of  negro  slaves  in  this  Colony ;  and  that  all  negroes 
born  in  the  Colony  should  be  free  at  attaining  to  a  certain 
age. 

"Voted,  That  James  Angell,  Esq.,  be  added  to  the  Com 
mittee  of  Correspondence  of  this  town,  and  that  he  sign 
their  letters  as  clerk." 

Rhode  Island  Resolutions. 

"  At  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Governor  and  Company 
of  the  English  Colony  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plan 
tations,  in  New  England,  in  America,  begun  and  hold  en  by 
adjournment,  at  Newport,  within  and  for  the  said  Colony, 
on  the  second  Monday  in  June,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy -four,  and  in  the  four 
teenth  year  of  the  reign  of  his  most  sacred  Majesty  King 
George  the  Third,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  Great  Britain, 
and  so  forth. 

"This  Assembly,  taking  into  their  most  serious  considera 
tion  several  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  for  levying  taxes 
upon  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  America  without  their  con 
sent  ;  and  particularly  an  act  lately  passed  for  the  blocking 
up  the  port  of  Boston,  which  act,  even  upon  the  supposition 
that  the  people  of  Boston  had  justly  deserved  punishment,  is 
scarcely  to  be  parallelled  in  history  for  the  severity  of  the 
vengeance  executed  upon  them;  and  also  considering  to 
what  a  deplorable  state  this  and  all  the  other  Colonies  are 
reduced  when,  by  an  act  of  Parliament,  in  which  the  subjects 
of  America  have  not  a  single  voice,  and  without  being  heard, 
they  may  be  divested  of  property  and  deprived  of  liberty;— 
do,  upon  mature  deliberation, 

"Resolve,  1st,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Assembly  that 
a  firm  and  inviolable  union  of  all  the  Colonies  in  counsels 
and  measures  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  preservation  of 
their  rights  and  liberties;  and  that  for  that  purpose  a  con 
vention  of  representatives  from  all  the  Colonies  ought  to  be 
holden  in  some  suitable  place  as  soon  as  may  be,  in  order  to 
consult  upon  proper  measures  to  obtain  a  repeal  of  the  said 
acts,  and  to  establish  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  Colony 
upon  a  just  and  solid  foundation. 

"3d,  That  the  honorable  Stephen  Hopkins,  and  the  Honor 
able  Samuel  Ward,  Esqrs.,  be  and  they  are  hereby  appointed 
by  this  assembly  to  represent  the  people  of  this  Colony  in  a 
General  Congress  of  Representatives  from  the  other  Colonies 
at  such  time  and  place  as  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  the  major 
part  of  the  committees  appointed  or  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Colonies  in  general. 

"  3d,  That  they  consult  and  advise,  with  the  representatives 
of  the  other  Colonies  who  shall  meet  in  such  Congress,  upon 
a  loyal  and  dutiful  petition  and  remonstrance  to  be  presented 


166  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC, 

to  his  Majesty,  as  the  united  voice  of  his  faithful  subjects  in 
America,  setting  forth  the  grievances  they  labor  under,  and 
praying  his  gracious  interposition  for  their  relief. 

"And  that,  in  case  a  major  part  of  the  representatives  of  all 
the  Colonies  shall  agree  upon  such  petition  and  remonstrance, 
they  be  empowered  to  sign  the  same  in  behalf  of  this  Colony. 

"4th,  That  they  also  consult  upon  all  such  reasonable  and 
lawful  measures  as  may  be  expedient  for  the  Colonies  in  a 
united  manner  to  pursue,  in  order  to  procure  a  redress  of 
their  grievances,  and  to  ascertain  and  establish  their  rights 
and  liberties. 

"  5th,  That  they  also  endeavor  to  procure  a  regular  annual 
convention  of  representatives  from  all  the  Colonies  to  con 
sider  of  proper  means  for  the  preservation  of  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  all  the  Colonies. 

"6th,  That  the  speaker  of  the  lower  House  transmit,  as  soon 
as  may  be,  copies  of  these  resolutions  to  the  present  or  late 
speakers  of  the  respective  Houses  of  Representatives  of  all 
the  British  Colonies  upon  the  continent. 

"HENRY  WARD,  Secretary" 

Providence  (Rhode  Island)  Town  Meeting. 

"At  a  town  meeting  held  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  con 
vened  by  warrant  on  the  12th  day  of  August,  1774, 

"  Benjamin  Man,  Esq.,  Moderator, 

"Instructions  to  the  deputies  of  this  town  in  General  As 
sembly  : 

"  GENTLEMEN:  The  suffering  and  distresses  of  the  people  of 
the  town  of  Boston,  occasioned  by  a  relentless  execution  of 
that  cruel  edict  for  blocking  up  the  port,  awakens  our  atten 
tion  and  excites  our  compassion.  Their  cause  is  our  cause ; 
and  unless  aid  and  succour  be  afforded  them,  thev  may  be 
discouraged  into  a  hurtful  submission,  and  Ministerial 
vengeance  may  next  be  directed  against  this  Colony,  and  in 
the  end  alight  upon  all.  You  are  therefore  requested  to  use 
your  endeavors,  at  the  next  session  of  the  General  Assembly, 
to  procure  a  grant,  to  be  made  from  this  Colony,  of  such  sum 
of  money  as  they  may  think  fit  towards  relieving  and 
mitigating  the  difficulties  and  distresses  which  that  town 
must  experience  from  the  operation  of  that  most  unrighteous 
inhibition,  the  hostile  manner  of  carrying  the  same  into  force, 
and  a  general  arrest  of  their  liberties. 

"Permit  us  to  observe  that  in  doing  this  it  will  be  evidenced 
that  as  a  community  we  would  do  unto  others  as  \ve  would 
that  they  should  do  unto  us  in  a  like  circumstance ;  and  that 
it  will  be  a  greater  testimony  of  unanimity  in  the  general 
concernments  of  America  in  this  day  of  struggle  and  danger, 
•than  private  contributions,  and  far  more  equal." 

"At  a  town  meeting  held  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  on 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  167 

the  21st  day  of  November,  1774,  A.M.,  called  by  warrant,  to 
order  a  town  tax,  etc., 

"  Nicholas  Brown,  Esq.,  Moderator, 

"Voted,  That  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  for  this 
town  be  hereby  empowered  to  receive  of  the  town  treasury 
the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  five  pounds  lawful 
money,  and  to  transmit  the  same  to  the  committee  in  the 
town  of  Boston  for  receiving  donations  for  the  distressed  in 
habitants  of  the  town  of  Boston  and  Charlestown ;  and  the 
treasurer  is  hereby  ordered  to  pay  said  sum  out  of  the  first 
money  he  shall  receive  of  the  tax  now  ordered." 

Extract  from  a  letter  of  Captain  Wallace  to  Vice-admiral 
Graves,  dated  on  board  his  Majesty's  ship  Hose,  at  New- 


r's  snip 
:  which 

I  had  the  honor  to  acquaint  you  the  8th  instant.  Since  my 
absence  from  this  place,  I  find  the  inhabitants  (they  say  here 
of  Providence)  have  seized  upon  the  King's  cannon  that  was 
upon  Fort  Island,  consisting  of  six  24-pounders,  eighteen  18- 
pounders,  fourteen  6-pounders,  and  six  4-pounders  (the  latter 
they  say  formerly  belonged  to  a  Province  sloop  they  had 
here),  and  conveyed  them  to  Providence. 

"  A  procedure  so  extraordinary  caused  me  to  wait  upon 
the  Governor,  to  inquire  of  Mm,  for  your  information,  why 
such  a  step  had  been  taken.  He  very  frankly  told  me  they 
had  done  it  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
Zing,  or  any  of  his  servants,  and  that  they  meant  to  make 
use  of  them  to  defend  themselves  against  any  power  that 
shall  offer  to  molest  them.  I  then  mentioned  if,  in  the  course 
of  carrying  on  the  King's  service  here, I  should  ask  assistance, 
whether  I  might  expect  any  from  him  or  any  others  in  the 
government.  He  answered,  as  to  himself,  he  had  no  power, 
and,  in  respect  to  any  other  part  of  the  government,  I  should 
meet  with  nothing  but  opposition  and  difficulty.  So  much 
from  Governor  Wanton.  Then  I  endeavored  to" get  the  best 
information  of  what  they  were  at  from  other  quarters,  and 
inclosed  I  send  it  to  you ;  among  some  of  their  votes  you  will 
find  they  intend  to  procure  powder  and  ball  and  military 
stores  of  all  kinds  wherever  they  can  get  them." 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  a  gentleman  in  New  York,  dated 
Newport,  R.  I.,  December  14,  1774: 

"The  people  here  have,  I  think,  openly  declared  them 
selves  against  government,  and  in  such  manner  as  surely 
must  be  pronounced  rebellion.  Is  it  possible  that  a  people 
without  arms,  ammunition,  money,  or  navy  should  dare 
brave  a  nation  dreaded  and  respected  by  all  the  powers  on 
earth  ?  What  black  ingratitude  to  the  parent-state  who  has 
nourished,  protected,  and  supported  them  in  their  infancy ! 
What  can  these  things  indicate  but  a  civil  war  ?  Horrid  re- 


168  TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

flection!  and  such  as  freezes  the  blood  of  every  Tinman 
heart. 

"There  has  been  a  most  extraordinary  movement  here  a 
few  days  ago.  The  public  authority  of  the  Colony  have  dis 
mantled  the  King's  fort  and  moved  all  the  cannon  and  stores 
to  Providence,  in  order,  as  it  is  said,  to  assist  the  Bostonians 
against  the  King's  troops. 

44  Underneath  is  a  list  of  the  cannon: 

"  Six  24-pounders,  eighteen  18-pounders  given  by  the  late 
King  to  the  fort ;  fourteen  6-pounders,  six  4-pounders  belong 
ing  to  the  Colony. 

"  God  send  us  better  times ! 

1  'Yours,  etc." 

Committee  of  Newport,  E.  I.,  to  the  Philadelphia  Com 
mittee  : 

"  NEWPORT,  January  5,  1775. 

"  GENTLEMEN:  Being  informed  that  it  is  reported  at  New 
York,  and  at  other  parts  of  the  continent,  that  the  inhabitants 
of  this  town  are  fitting  out  vessels  and  determined  to  carry 
on  their  trade  in  violation  of  the  Continental  Association, 
and  as  the  propagators  of  this  infamous  falsehood  can  have 
no  other  intention  than  to  weaken  the  bonds  of  union  be 
tween  the  Colonies,  we  think  it  our  duty  to  acquaint  you 
that  several  vessels  designed  for  the  coast  of  Africa,  which 
could  not  be  got  ready  by  the  1st  of  December,  have  been 
actually  laid  up ;  that  several  parcels  of  sheep  purchased  for 
exportation  have  been  stopped ;  and  that,  so  far  as  we  can 
learn,  the  Association  hath  been  strictly  adhered  to  by  the 
merchants  in  this  Colony,  who  declare  their  intention  to 
abide  by  it.  Indeed,  the  absolute  necessity  of  an  union  in 
common  measures  for  the  common  safety  is  so  obvious  that 
we  can  assure  you  that  the  trade  o£  Rhode  Island  will  be 
carried  on  with  a  punctual  regard  to  the  Association. 

14  We  pray  an  early  communication  of  any  intelligence 
you  may  receive  of  importance  to  the  Colonies,  and  are, 
with  great  esteem,  gentlemen,  your  most  humble  servants." 

The  Committeee  of  Correspondence  to  the  Committee 
of  Correspondence  for  Philadelphia : 

"  PROVIDENCE,  R.  I.,  March  4,  1775. 

"  On  Thursday  last,  the  2d  instant,  about  12  o'clock,  at 
noon,  the  town  crier  gave  the  following  notice  through  the 
town :  '  At  5  o'clock  this  afternoon,  a  quantity  of  India  tea 
will  be  burnt  in  the  market-place.  All  true  friends  of  their 
country,  lovers  of  freedom,  and  haters  of  shackles  and  hand 
cuffs  are  hereby  invited  to  testify  their  good  disposition  by- 
bringing  in  and  casting  into  the  fire  a  needless  herb,  which 
for  a  long  time  hath  been  highly  detrimental  to  our  liberty, 
interest,  and  health.'  About  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
a  great  number  of  inhabitants  assembled  at  the  place,  when 


TSE  BIRTH  Off  THE  REPUBLIC.  169 

there  was  brought  in  about  three  hundred  pound  weight  of 
tea  by  the  firm  contenders  for  the  true  interests  of  America. 

"  A  large  fire  was  kindled,  and  the  tea  cast  into  it.  A  tar 
barrel,  Lord  North's  speech,  Rivingston's  and  Mill's,  and 
Hick's  newspapers,  and  divers  other  ingredients  were  also 
added.  There  appeared  great  cheerfulness  in  committing 
to  destruction  so  pernicious  an  article,  many  worthy  women, 
from  a  conviction  of  the  evil  tendency  of  continuing  the 
habit  of  tea-drinking,  made  free-will  offerings  of  their  re 
spective  stocks  of  the  hurtful  trash.  On  this  occasion  the 
bells  were  tolled,  but  it  is  referred  to  the  learned  whether 
tolling  or  ringing  would  have  been  most  proper. 

"Whilst  the  tea  was  burning,  a  spirited  Son  of  Liberty 
went  along  the  streets  with  his  brush  and  lampblack,  and 
obliterated  or  unpainted  the  word  '  tea'  on  the  shop  signs." 

"  PROVIDENCE,  April  25,  1775. 
u  To  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  Connecticut: 

"  SIR:  I  am  directed  by  the  lower  House  of  Assembly  to 
inform  you  that  William  Bradford,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Greene,  two  of  the  members  of  this  House,  are  appointed 
'  to  wait  upon  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Colony  of  Con 
necticut,  to  consult  upon  measures  for  the  common  defence 
of  the  four  New  England  Colonies,  and  to  make  report  to 
the  next  session  of  Assembly  (which  will  be  next  week  at 
Providence)  at  our  general  election.' 

"The  Assembly  this  day  have  passed  an  act  to  raise  fifteen 
hundred  effective  men  for  the  service  of  this  Colony  and  the 
general  cause.  Great  firmness  and  resolution  for  the  defence 
of  the  common  rights  of  this  country  most  certainly  prevail 
in  this  Colony ;  and  greater  unanimity  was  scarce  ever  found 
than  was  manifested  in  the  lower  House,  on  the  great  ques 
tions  which  came  before  them." 

"  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  RHODE  ISLAND,  ) 
PROVIDENCE,  R.  I.,  May  20,  1775.         f 

"WHhereas,  The  Ministry  and  Parliament  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  sacrificing  the  glory  and  happiness  of  their  sovereign, 
and  the  good  of  Britain  and  the  Colonies  to  their  own  am 
bitious  and  lucrative  views,  have  entered  into  many  arbi 
trary,  illegal  resolutions  for  depriving  his  Majesty's  subjects 
in  America  of  every  security  for  the  enjoyment  of  life, 
liberty,  and  property ;  and  have  sent  and  are  still  sending 
troops  and  ships  of  war  into  their  Colonies  to  enforce  their 
tyrannical  mandates,  and  have  actually  begun  to  shed  the 
blood  of  the  innocent  people  of  these  Colonies;— in  conse 
quence  whereof,  this  Assembly,  at  the  session  held  on  the  22d 
of  April  last,  passed  an  act  for  raising  fifteen  hundred  men, 
as  an  army  of  observation,  and  to  assist  any  of  our  sister- 
Colonies  ; 


170  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"And  whereas,  The  Honorable  Joseph  Wanton,  Esq.,  the 
Governor  of  this  Colony,  did  enter  a  protest  against  the  said 
act,  conceived  in  such  terms  as  highly  to  reflect  upon  the 
General  Assembly,  and  upon  the  united  opposition  of  all 
America  to  the  aforesaid  tyrannical  measure ; 

"And  whereas,  The  said  Joseph  Wanton,  Esq.,  hath  ne 
glected  to  issue  a  proclamation  for  the  due  observance  of  the 
Thursday,  the  llth  of  May  instant,  as  a  day  of  fasting  and 
pray  er,  agreeable  to  an  act  passed  at  the  said  session ; 

"And  whereas,  The  said  Joseph  Wanton,  Esq.,  hath  been 
elected  to  the  office  of  Governor  of  this  Colony  for  the  pres 
ent  year,  and  been  duly  notified  by  this  Assembly,  not 
withstanding  which  he  hath  not  attended  at  this  General 
Assembly  and  taken  the  path  required  by  law ; 

"  And  whereas,  The  said  Joseph  Wanton,  Esq.,  hath  posi 
tively  refused  to  si^n  the  commissions  for  the  officers  ap 
pointed  to  command  the  troops  so  ordered  to  be  raised:  by 
all  which  he  hath  manifested  his  intention  to  defeat  the 
good  people  of  these  Colonies  in  their  present  glorious  strug 
gle  to  transmit,  inviolate  to  posterity,  those  sacred  rights 
they  have  received  from  their  ancestors;— 

"Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  this  General  Assembly,  and 
by  the  authority  thereof  it  is  enacted,  That  the  Deputy-gov 
ernor  and  associates  be  and  they  are  hereby  forbid  to  ad 
minister  the  oath  of  office  to  the  said  Joseph  Wanton,  Esq., 
unless  in  free  and  open  General  Assembly,  according  to  the 
unvaried  practice  or  this  Colony,  and  with  the  assent  of  such 
Assembly;  that  until  the  said  Joseph  Wanton,  Esq.,  shall 
have  taken  the  oath  of  office  as  aforesaid,  it  shall  not  be  law  - 
ful  for  him  to  act  as  governor  of  this  Colony  in  any  case 
whatsoever;  and  that  every  act  done  by  him  in  the  prece 
dent  capacity  of  Governor  shaU  be  null  and  void  in  itself, 
and  shall  not  operate  as  a  warrant  or  discharge  to  any  per 
son  acting  under  his  order  or  by  his  authority. 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  Henry  Ward,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  the  Colony,  be  and  he 
is  hereby  directed,  and  is  fully  authorized  and  empowered, 
to  sign  the  commissions  for  the  officers,  civil  and  military, 
chosen  by  this  Assembly,  as  well  those  given  in  the  ser 
vice  aforesaid  as  others,  he  receiving  therefor  out  of  the 
general  treasury  two  shillings  and  eightpence  for  each  com 
mission.  And  that  such  commissions  so  signed,  with  the 
Colony  seal  affixed,  shall  be  as  full  and  effectual  warrants 
to  every  and  all  such  officers  so  chosen  for  the  faithful  dis 
charge  of  his  and  their  duty,  as  if  the  same  were  signed  by 
a  governor  of  this  Colony  duly  elected  and  engaged  accord 
ing  to  law ;  any  law,  custom,  or  usage  to  the  contrary  hereof 
in  any  wise  notwithstanding:. 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  his  Honour  the  Deputy-governor  be  requested  and  fully 


TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  171 

authorized  and  empowered  to  call  the  General  Assembly  to 
gether  upon  any  emergency,  to  meet  at  such  time  and  place 
as  he  shall  think  most  fit  for  the  interest  of  the  Colony." 

"RHODE  ISLAND  ASSEMBLY,  ) 
August,  1775  ) 

"  Whereas,  Notwithstanding  the  humble  and  dutiful  peti 
tion  of  the  last  Congress  to  the  King,  and  other  wise  and 
pacific  measures  taken  for  obtaining  a  happy  reconciliation 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies,  the  Ministry,  lost  to 
every  sense  of  justice,  liberty,  and  humanity,  continue  to  send 
troops  and  ships  of  war  into  America,  which  destroy  our 
trade,  plunder  and  burn  our  towns,  and  murder  the  people 
of  these  Colonies, — 

"It  is  therefore  Voted  and  Resolved,  That  this  Colony 
most  ardently  desire  to  see  the  former  friendship,  harmony, 
and  intercourse  between  Great  Britain  and  these  Colonies  re 
stored,  and  a  happy,  lasting  connection  established  between 
both  countries,  upon  terms  of  just  and  equal  liberty;  and 
will  concur  with  the  other  Colonies  in  all  proper  measures 
for  obtaining  those  desirable  blessings.  And  as  every  prin 
ciple,  divine  and  human,  require  us  to  obey  that  great  and 
fundamental  law  of  nature, — self-preservation, — until  peace 
shall  be  restored  upon  constitutional  principles,  this  Colony 
will  most  heartily  exert  the  whole  power  of  government  for 
carrying  on  this  just  and  necessary  war,  and  bringing  the 
same  to  a  happy  issue.  And  amongst  other  measures  for 
obtaining  this  most  desirable  purpose,  this  Assembly  is  per 
suaded  that  the  building  and  equipping  an  American  fleet, 
as  soon  as  possible,  would  greatly  and  essentially  conduce 
to  the  preservation  of  the  lives,  liberty,  and  property  of  the 
good  people  of  these  Colonies;  and  therefore  instruct  their 
delegates  to  use  their  whole  influence,  at  the  ensuing  Con 
gress,  for  building,  at  the  continental  expense,  a  fleet  of  suf 
ficient  force  for  the  protection  of  these  Colonies,  and  for  em 
ploying  them  in  such  manner  and  places  as  will  most  effec 
tually  annoy  our  enemies  and  contribute  to  the  common 
defence  of  these  Colonies.  And  they  are  also  instructed  to 
use  their  influence  for  carrying  on  the  war  in  the  most 
vigorous  manner,  until  peace,  liberty,  and  safety  be  restored 
and  secured  to  these  Colonies  upon  an  equitable  and  per 
manent  basis." 

Rhode  Island  promptly  responded  to  the  proposition  made 
by  Massachusetts,  that  the  New  England  Colonies  should 
raise  30,000  men.  Some  four  thousand  men  were  soon  under 
arms ;  and  on  the  20th  April,  when  news  of  the  British  at 
tack  on  Lexington  and  Concord  reached  Providence,  one 
thousand  men  were  sent  to  the  aid  of  the  sister-Colony.  The 
order  for  the  march,  however,  was  countermanded;  the  im 
mediate  necessity  for  their  presence  having  ceased. 

May  3d,  the  Assembly  adopted  the  bold  measure  of  sus- 


172  THE  BIRTH  Off  THE  REPUBLIC. 

pending  the  functions  of  the  Governor,  Joseph  Wanton.  '  *  He 
had  protested  against  the  act  for  raising  the  army  of  observa 
tion  ;  he  had  neglected  to  issue  his  proclamation  for  the  fast- 
day  appointed  by  the  Assembly ;  he  had  failed  to  be  present 
to  take  the  oath  of  office  at  this  session ;  and  he  now  refused 
to  sign  the  commission  for  officers  of  the  new  army ;  '  by  all 
which  he  hath  manifested  bis  intentions  to  defeat  the  good 
people  of  these  Colonies  in  their  present  glorious  struggle  to 
transmit,  inviolate  to  posterity,  those  sacred  rights  they 
have  received  from  their  ancestors.'  The  magistrates  were 
therefore  forbidden  to  administer  to  him  the  official  oath 
unless  in  open  Assembly,  *  according  to  the  unvaried  prac 
tice'  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Assembly ;  and  until  this 
oath  was  thus  taken  he  was  disqualified  from  acting  as 
governor.  Henry  Ward,  Secretary,  was  empowered  to 
sign  all  commissions,  civil  or  military,  and  the  Deputy-gov 
ernor  was  authorized  to  convene  the  Assembly  at  his  discre 
tion." 

June  15th,  a  small  vessel  which  had  been  detained  or  seized 
by  the  British  naval  commander  Captain  Wallace,  was  re 
captured  by  an  armed  sloop  commanded  by  Captain  Whip- 
pie,  in  the  Colony's  service,  "after  a  sharp  firing  on  both 
sides."  "Two  armed  vessels  were  at  once  ordered  to  be 
equipped  for  the  defence  of  the  Colony :  the  largest  to  carry 
ten  4-pounders,  and  fourteen  swivel  guns,  with  eighty 
men ;  the  smaller  to  carry  thirty  men.  They  were  called 
the  Washington  and  the  Katy.  Both  were  placed  under  the 
command  of  Abraham  Whipple,  the  hero  of  the  Gaspee, 
with  the  rank  of  Commodore.  Such  was  the  commencement 
of  the  American  Navy."— Arnold,  vol.  2,  p.  351. 

June  17th,  "The  Rose  frigate,  Swan  sloop  of  war,  and  a 
tender  came  up  the  river  in  pursuit  of  prizes,  and,  while  ab 
sent  from  Newport,  five  vessels  which  they  had  previously 
taken  were  boarded  and  carried  off  by  the  people  of  that 
town."— Page  352. 

In  August  two  "row-galleys,"  or  gun-boats,  each  to  carry 
sixty  men,  were  added  to  the  naval  force  of  Rhode  Island ; 
and  at  the  same  session  of  the  Assembly,  the  delegates 'in 
Congress  were  instructed  "  to  use  their  whole  influence  for 
building,  at  the  continental  expense,  a  fleet  of  sufficient  force 
for  the  protection  of  these  Colonies." 

In  November,  Governor  Wanton,  who  had  been  suspended 
in  May,  was  deposed  and  the  office  declared  vacant.  The 
Deputy  governor,  Nicholas  Cooke,  succeeded  him. 

It  was  contended  by  Arnold  that  the  Whigs  of  Rhode 
Island  aimed  at  independence  from  the  year  1768  forward. 
Her  Constitution  or  Charter  had  always  been  republican  in 
character;  all  her  officers  were  elected  by  the  people  or  ap 
pointed  by  the  Provincial  Government;  and  the  people  had 
thus  been  trained,  for  generations,  to  the  exercise  of  self- 


THE  BIETH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  173 

government.  On  the  4th  May,  1776,  the  Assembly  passed 
the  following  act,  which  is  practically  a  declaration  or  inde 
pendence  of  Great  Britain : 

u  An  Act  Repealing  'An  Act  for  the  more  Effectually  Secur 
ing  to  his  Majesty  the  Allegiance  of  his  Subjects,  in  this  his 
Colony  and  Dominion  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence 
Plantations,'  and  Altering  the  Forms  of  Commissions  of  all 
Writs  and  Processes  in  the  Courts,  and  of  the  Oaths  pre 
scribed  by  law. 

"  Whereas  in  all  states  existing  by  compact,  protection 
and  allegiance  are  reciprocal,  the  latter  being  only  due  in 
consequence  of  the  former ;  and  whereas,  George  the  Third 
King  of  Great  Britain,  forgetting  his  dignity,  regardless  of 
the  compact  most  solemnly  entered  into,  ratified:  and  con 
firmed  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony  by  his  illustrious 
ancestors,  and,  till  of  late,  fully  recognized  by  him;  and, 
entirely  departing  from  the  duty  and  character  of  a  good 
King,  instead  of  protecting,  is  endeavoring  to  destroy  the 
good  people  of  this  Colony,  and  of  all  the  united  Colonies, 
by  sending  fleets  and  armies  to  America  to  confiscate  our 
property  and  spread  fire,  sword,  and  desolation  throughout 
our  country  in  order  to  compel  us  to  submit  to  the  most 
debasing  and  detestable  tyranny ;  whereby  we  are  obliged 
by  necessity,  and  it  becomes  our  highest  duty,  to  use  every 
means  with  which  God  and  nature  have  furnished  us,  in 
support  of  our  invaluable  rights  and  privileges,  to  oppose  that 
power  which  is  exerted  only  for  our  destruction. 

"Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  this  General  Assembly,  and 
by  the  authority  thereof  it  is  enacted,  That  an  act  entitled 
'  An  Act  for  the  more  Effectually  Securing  to  his  Majesty  the 
Allegiance  of  his  Subjects  in  this  his  Colony  and  Dominion 
of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations'  be  and  the 
same  is  hereby  repealed. 

44  And  it  is  further  enacted  by  this  General  Assembly,  and 
by  the  authority  thereof  it  is  enacted,  That  in  all  commissions 
for  officers,  civil  and  military,  and  in  all  writs  and  processes 
in  law,  whether  original,  judicial,  or  executory,  civil  or 
criminal,  wherever  the  name  and  authority  of  the  said  King 
is  made  use  of,  the  same  shall  be  omitted,  and  in  the  room 
thereof  the  name  and  authority  of  the  Governor  and  Com 
pany  of  this  Colony  shall  be  substituted,  in  the  following 
words,  to  wit:  '  The  Governor  and  Company  of  the  English 
Colony  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations;'  that 
all  such  commissions,  writs,  and  processes  shall  be  otherwise 
of  the  same  form  and  tenor  as  they  heretofore  were ;  that 
the  courts  of  law  be  no  longer  entitled  or  considered  as  the 
King's  courts;  and  that  no  instrument  of  writing,  of  any 
nature  or  kind,  whether  public  or  private,  shall,  in  the  date 
thereof,  mention  the  year  of  the  said  King's  reign :  provided, 
nevertheless,  that  nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall  render 


174  THE  BIRTII  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

void,  or  vitiate,  any  com  mission,  writ,  process,  or  instrument 
heretofore  made  or  executed,  on  account  of  the  name  and 
authority  of  the  said  King  "being  therein  inserted." 

The  records  of  the  Assembly  had  always  closed,  says 
Arnold,  with  the  loyal  motto,  "God  save  the  King!"  but  at 
this  session  the  closing  words  were,  ' '  God  save  the  United 
Colonies !" 

General  Greene,  the  distinguished  patriot-soldier  of  Ehode 
Island,  as  early  as  October,  1775,  expressed  a  strong  convic 
tion  that  independence  was  inevitable.  And  in  no  one  Colony 
was  this  sentiment  more  prevalent  in  advance  of  the  event. 

NEW  YORK. 

The  merchants  of  New  York  were  among  the  foremost 
and  most  determined  in  opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act ;  but 
they  for  a  long  while  resisted  the  enforcement  of  the  non 
importation  agreements  which  were  entered  into  by  the 
other  Colonies ;  and  aided  by  the  Crown  officers,  they  for  a 
while  had  sufficient  influence  in  the  Colony  to  prevent  their 
adoption.  A  letter  from  Lieutenant-governor  Colden  to  the 
Earl  of  Hillsborough,  dated  New  York,  July  7,  1770,  says: 

"As  there  still  remains  a  restless  faction  who,  from  pop 
ular  arguments,  rumors,  and  invectives,  are  endeavoring  to 
excite  riots  and  opposition  among  the  lower  class  of  people, 
a  number  of  gentlemen  went  round  the  town  to  take  the 
sentiments  of  individuals.  I  am  told  that  11S02  among 
which  are  the  principal  inhabitants,  declared  for  importa 
tion,  about  300  were  neutral  or  unwilling  to  declare  their 
sentiments,  and  (only)  a  few  of  any  distinction  declared  in 
opposition  to  it.  I  am  informed  likewise  that  the  merchants 
of  this  place  resolved  to  acquaint  the  merchants  of  Boston 
and  Philadelphia  with  their  inclinations  to  import."— O'Cal- 
laghan's  N.  Y.  Historical  Collection. 

The  sequel  will  show  that  the  undistinguished  class,  whose 
opinions  were  not  thought  worth  inquiring  into,  when  the 
issue  was  made  carried  the  day.  They  overcame  the  mer 
chants  and  the  government  and  compelled  the  adoption  of 
the  non-importation  agreement.  Within  a  week  this  ob 
scure  clement,  the  common  people,  led  by  what  is  styled  an 
' l  inconsiderable,  noisy,  blustering  faction,  whose  whole  aim 
is  to  keap  the  country  in  confusion,  in  order  to  answer  their 
purposes  and  keep  up  a  popularity  which,  by  vile  means, 
they  have  obtained  among  the  lower  class  of  mechanics  and 
inhabitants," — this  faction  had  sufficient  influence  to  get  up 
a  public  meeting  at  the  City  Hall,  at  which  Isaac  Sears 
"publicly  declared  if  any  merchant  or  number  of  merchants 
presumed  to  break  through  the  non-importation  agreement 
till  the  several  Provinces  had  agreed  to  do  the  same,  he 
would  lose  his  life  in  the  attempt  or  the  goods  imported 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  175 

should  be  burnt  as  soon  as  landed ;  and  strenuously  advised 
that  every  measure  in  the  power  of  that  faction  should  be 
attempted,  to  frustrate  the  resolutions  taken  or  to  be  taken 
by  the  gentlemen  and  merchants  for  bringing  about  an 
importation." 

Governor  Tryon,  who  had  succeeded  Governor  Moore  in 
1769,  writes  to  Earl  Dartmouth  under  date  of  November  3, 
1773,  that  "It  is  with  real  regret  I  acquaint  your  lordship 
of  the  ferment  the  minds  of  many  of  his  Majesty's  subjects 
have  been  in  since  the  late  arrival  here  of  some  of  the  coun 
try  ships  in  the  London  trade,  which  brought  intelligence 
of  the  East  India  Company's  intention  to  ship  tea  on  their 
own  account  to  America;  and  the  refusal  of  the  masters  of 
those  vessels  to  take  it  on  board."  With  this  letter  Tryon 
inclosed  newspapers  containing  ''productions  calculated  to 
sow  sedition." 

Tryon  again  writes,  under  date,  New  York,  1st  Dec. ,  1773, 
as  follows : 

"Since  information  has  been  received  that  the  teas 
shipped  by  the  East  India  Company  are  subject  to  the  im 
portation  duty  in  America,  the  commissioners  appointed  for 
sending  those  teas,  finding  it  would  be  impossible  to  carry 
into  execution  the  powers  granted  them,  have  this  day  pre 
sented  a  memorial  requesting  government  would  take  the 
teas  uuder  its  protection.  The  memorial  and  minute  of 
Council  herewith  transmitted  will  explain  both  the  extent 
of  the  request  and  the  measure  of  protection  advised  to  be 
granted.  I  have  accordingly  applied  to  Captain  Ascough, 
of  his  Majesty's  sloop  the  Swan,  to  take  the  vessel,  when 
arrived,  under  his  protection  until  the  tea  could  be  landed, 
which,  I  am  informed,  will  be  effected  without  obstruction, 
though  the  general  voice  is  no  sales,  no  consumption  while 
the  American  duty  remains  unrepealed  by  Parliament. 

"The  publications  inclosed  are  by  no  means  to  be  thought 
the  sense  of  the  inhabitants  further  than  the  general  reluc 
tance  to  take  any  articles  from  Great  Britain  subject  to 
duties  in  America." 

So  this  reluctance  was  general,  and  not  confined  to  a  small 
faction. 

January  3,  1774,  Tryon  writes  to  Earl  Dartmouth,  that, 

"Until  the  arrival  of  the  account  of  the  tea  being  de 
stroyed  at  Boston,  I  had  conceived  very  sanguine  hopes  that 
temperate  measures  might  have  been  manifested  in  the  con 
duct  of  the  body  of  the  people  of  this  Province  on  the  ar 
rival  of  the  tea, "  etc.  But  he  concludes :  ' '  From  the  general 
appearance  of  the  united  opposition  to  the  principle  of  the 
monopoly  and  the  importation  duty  in  America,  I  can  form 
no  other  opinion  than  that  the  landing,  storing,  and  safe 
keeping  of  the  tea  when  stored,  could  be  accomplished,  but 
only  under  the  protection  of  the  point  of  the  bayonet  and 


176  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

muzzle  of  the  cannon ;  and  even  then  I  do  not  see  how  the 
consumption  could  be  effected." 

Governor  Tryon,  having  gone  to  England  on  leave  of  ab 
sence  on  account  of  impaired  health,  the  Lieutenant  gov 
ernor,  Golden,  again  resumed  authority.  Under  date  of  May 
4,  1774,  he  wrote : 

'•Captain  Lockyer,  with  the  so-long-locked-for  tea  from 
the  India  Company,  arrived  at  Sandy  Hook  on  the  19th  of 
last  month.  The  ship  came  no  farther  up,  and,  a  few  days 
after,  sailed  from  thence  again  for  London,  with  the  tea  on 
board.  Neither  the  captain  nor  any  other  made  the  least 
application  to  me  about  the  ship  or  her  cargo.  The  ac 
count  of  this  affair  published  in  the  inclosed  newspaper  is 
as  particular  and  full  as  any  that  I  could  procure. 

' '  In  the  same  paper  your  lordship  will  find  an  account 
of  some  more  violent  proceedings  against  a  parcel  of  tea 
imported  by  Captain  Chambers  of  the  ship  London ;  who 
arrived  here  while  Captain  Lockwood  was  in  this  place. 
As  no  application  was  made  to  me  by  Captain  Chambers  or 
any  other  before  or  since  this  riotous  event2  I  cannot  give 
your  lordship  a  better  account  of  it  than  is  contained  in 
the  printed  paper.  It  happened  early  in  the  evening,  and, 
though  a  pretty  large  number  of  spectators  were  assembled, 
the  quarter  where  I  reside  and  the  greater  part  of  the  town 
was  perfectly  quiet." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  Golden  says  that  "The  destruction 
of  Captain  Chambers'  tea  was  so  unexpected  and  sudden 
that  no  measures  could  be  previouslv  thought  of  to  prevent 
it. 

"A  few  days  after  Governor  Tryon  went  from  hence,  a 
small  sloop  loaded  with  Dutch  tea,  duck,  etc.,  was  seized 
by  an  officer  of  the  Custom-house.  She  was  taken  in  tliis 
port  at  noonday  and  secured  without  any  tumult  on  the 
occasion." 

July  6,  1774,  Golden  writes  to  Dartmouth  that  a  commit 
tee  of  fifty-one  persons  had  been  appointed  to  correspond 
with  similar  committees  in  other  Colonies.  He  admits  his 
inability  to  suppress  the  movement,  and  attempts  to  console 
himself  and  his  lordship  with  the  statement  that  some  of 
the  better  sort  of  gentlemen  had  joined  in  the  movement, 
in  order  to  prevent  excesses. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  the  proceedings  of  this 
committee : 

"  NEW  YORK  COMMITTEE  OF  CORRESPONDENCE,  ) 
"  NEW  YORK,  Monday,  May  16,  1774.  \ 

"The  merchants  and  other  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  New 
York  assembled  at  the  Exchange  in  said  city  and  nominat 
ed  the  following  gentlemen  to  form  a  committee  to  corre 
spond  with  our  sister-Colonies  upon  all  matters  of  moment, 
and  that  fifteen  be  a  board,  all  being  duly  summoned: 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


Ill 


John  Alsop, 
Peter  V.  B.  Livingston, 
David  Johnston, 
Alex.  McDougall, 
Isaac  Low, 
James  Duane, 
Elias  Desbrosses, 
John  Delaney, 
John  Broom e, 
Joseph  Hallett, 
James  Jauncey, 
Abraham  Walton, 
Henry  Remson, 
Peter  T.  Curtenius, 
Abraham  P.  Lott, 
Abraham  Duryee, 
Richard  Sharpe, 
William  Bayard, 
Philip  Livingston, 
Charles  McEvers, 
Capt.  Th.  Randall, 
Leonard  Lispenard, 
Edward  Laight, 
William  Walton, 


John  Jay, 
Charles  Shaw, 
Gabriel  H.  Ludlow, 
Gerandus  Duyckinck, 
Hamilton  Young, 
Peter  Goelet, 
David  Van  Home, 
Joseph  Bull, 
Thomas  Marston, 
Theophilas  Bache, 
Isaac  Sears, 
Charles  Nicholl, 
John  Moore, 
Jac.  Van  Zandt, 
Thomas  Pearsall, 
Richard  Yates, 
John  Thurman, 
Benjamin  Booth, 
Alexander  Wallace, 
Nicholas  Hoffman, 
Peter  Van  Schaach, 
George  Brown, 
Abraham  Brosher, 
Gerard  W.  Beekman, 
William  Me  Adam. 


Miles  Sherbrook, 

On  Tuesday  the  following  notice  was  published  in  hand 
bills  : 

u  To  the  public:  An  advertisement  having  appeared  at 
the  Coffee-house,  in  consequence  of  the  late  extraordinary 
and  very  alarming  advices  received  from  England,  inviting 
the  merchants  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Samuel  Francis, 
on  Monday  evening,  May  16th,  in  order  to  consult  on  meas- 
uresproper  to  be  pursued  on  the  present  critical  and  import 
ant  occasion : 

"  A  very  respectable  and  large  number  of  the  merchants 
and  other  inhabitants  did  accordingly  appear  at  the  time 
and  place  appointed,  and  then  and  there  nominated  for  the 
approbation  of  the  public  a  committee  of  fifty  persons,  of 
Which  fifteen  to  be  a  sufficient  number  to  do  business. 

"  That  therefore  no  formality  may  be  wanting  to  constitute 
a  committee  duly  chosen,  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  and 
county  are  requested  to  attend  at  the  Coffee-house  on 
Thursday,  the  19th  instant,  at  1  o'clock,  to  approve  of  the 
committee  nominated  as  aforesaid,  or  to  appoint  such  other 
persons  as  in  their  discretion  and  wisdom  may  seem  meet." 

"NEW  YORK,  Tuesday,  May  17,  1774. 

"In  consequence  of  the  foregoing  advertisement,  a  great 
concourse  of  the  inhabitants  met  at  the  Coffee  house  on 
Thursday,  May  19th,  to  confirm  or  alter  the  nomination  of  a 


178  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

committee  to  correspond  with  our  sister- Colonies  when  Mr. 
Isaac  Low  addressed  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  following 
words: 

"'GENTLEMEN:  You  have  been  duly  apprised,  both  by 
handbills  and  advertisements  in  this  day's  papers,  of  the 
intention  of  your  present  meeting. 

" '  I  hope,  gentlemen,  you  will  manifest  by  your  conduct 
that  you  are  actuated  by  the  dictates  of  calm  reason  only  in 
the  choice  of  the  committee  I  am  to  propose  for  your  appro 
bation. 

"  *  It  is  but  charitable  to  suppose  we  all  mean  the  same 
thing,  and  that  the  only  difference  among  us  is,  or  at  least 
ought  to  bo,  the  mode  of  effecting  it, — I  mean  the  preservation 
of  our  just  rights  and  liberties.  Let  us  then  call  down  wis 
dom  to  our  aid,  and  endeavor  to  walk  in  her  hallowed  paths. 

"  *  Ze^l  in  a  good  cause  is  most  laudable ;  but  when  it  trans 
ports  beyond  the  bounds  of  reason,  it  often  leaves  room  for 
bitter  reflection. 

"  '  We  out,  therefore,  gentlemen,  to  banish  from  our  hearts 
all  little  party  distinctions,  feuds,  and  animosities,  for  to  our 
unanimity  and  virtue  we  must  at  last  resort  for  sat ety ;  and 
that  man  will  approve  himself  the  best  friend  to  his  country 
whose  highest  emulation  is  to  inculcate  those  principles,  both 
by  precept  and  example." 

The  nomination  of  the  fifty  gentlemen  made  at  the  Ex 
change  on  the  16th  instant  was  then  submitted  by  Mr. 
Low  and  confirmed  by  the  meeting,  and  Mr.  Francis  Lewis 
was  added  to  the  number  by  unanimous  consent. 

"NEW  YORK,  Monday,  May  23,  1774. 

"The  committee  appointed  to  correspond  with  our  sister- 
Colonies  upon  all  matters  of  moment  met  at  the  Coffee 
house,  pursuant  to  notice  for  that  purpose  given. 

"  The  committee  proceeded  to  choose  Mr.  Isasc  Low  to  be 
their  chairman,  and  Mr.  John  Alsop  their  deputy  chairman. 

"The  committee  received  a  letter  from  the  body  of  me 
chanics,  signed  Jonathan  Blake,  their  chairman,  informing 
them  of  their  concurrence  with  the  other  inhabitants  of  this 
city  in  their  nomination. 

'''  Ordered,  That  Mr.  Duane,  Mr.  Jay,  and  Mr.  Van  Schaack 
be  a  committee  to  draw  up  a  set  of  rules  for  the  regulation 
of  the  committee,  and  present  the  same  at  the  next  meeting. 

"Ordered,  That  the  first  five  members  on  the  list,  who 
shall  be  in  town,  be  a  committee  to  open  all  letters  directed 
to  the  committee,  in  the  absence  of  the  chairman  and  deputy 
chairman. 

"Letters  from  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  Boston, 
with  the  vote  of  the  town  of  Boston,  of  the  13th  instant,  and 
a  letter  from  the  committee  of  Philadelphia  were  read. 

"Ordered,  That  Mr.  McDougall,  Mr.  Low,  Mr.  Duane,  and 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  179 

Mr.  Jay  be  a  committee  to  prepare  and  report  a  draft  of  an 
answer  to  the  Boston  committee  at  eight  o'clock  P.M.  ;  to 
which  hour  the  grand  committee  were  then  adjoined. 

"  NEW  YORK,  May  23,  1774. 

"The  committee  met  at  the  Coffee-house  at  8  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

"The  committee  appointed  this  morning  to  prepare  a 
draft  of  a  letter,  in  answer  to  those  received  from  Boston,, 
presented  a  draft  to  the  committee,  which  was  unanimously 
approved  of  and  ordered  to  be  signed  by  the  chairman  and 
transmitted  to  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  at  Boston, 
in  words  following: 

"  «  NEW  YORK,  May  23,  1774. 

"  '  GENTLEMEN:  The  alarming  measures  of  the  British  Par 
liament  relative  to  your  ancient  and  respected  town,  which 
has  so  long  been  the  seat  of  freedom,  fill  the  inhabitants  of 
this  city  with  inexpressible  concern.  As  a  sister-Colony 
suffering  in  defence  of  the  rights  of  America,  we  consider 
your  injuries  as  a  common  cause,  to  the  redress  of  which  it 
is  equally  our  duty  and  our  interest  to  contribute.  But 
what  ought  to  be  done  in  a  situation  so  truly  critical  while 
it  employs  the  anxious  thoughts  of  every  generous  mind,  is 
very  hard  to  be  determined. 

' ' '  Our  citizens  have  thought  it  necessary  to  appoint  a  large 
committee  consisting  of  fifty-one  persons  to  correspond  with 
our  sister  Colonies  on  this  and  every  other  matter  of  public 
moment,  and  at  ten  o'clock  this  forenoon  we  were  first 
assembled. 

"'  Your  letter  inclosing  the  vote  of  the  town  of  Boston, 
and  the  letter  of  your  Committee  of  Correspondence,  were 
immediately  taken  into  consideration. 

"  '  While  we  think  you  justly  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  your 
sister-Colonies  for  asking  their  advice  on  a  case  of  such  ex 
tensive  consequences,  we  lament  our  inability  to  relieve 
your  anxiety  by  a  decisive  opinion.  The  cause  is  general 
and  concerns  a  whole  continent,  who  are  equally  interested 
with  you  and  us ;  and  we  f orsee  that  no  remedy  can  be  of 
avail  unless  it  proceeds  from  the  joint  act  and  approbation 
of  all, — from  a  virtuous  and  spirited  union, — which  may  be 
expected ;  while  the  feeble  efforts  of  a  few  will  only  be  at 
tended  with  mischief  and  disappointment  to  themselves  and 
triumph  to  the  adversaries  of  our  liberty. 

' ' '  Upon  these  reasons  we  conclude  that  a  Congress  of 
Deputies  from  the  Colonies  in  general  is  of  the  utmost  mo 
ment;  that  it  ought  to  be  assembled  without  delay,  and  some 
unanimous  resolution  formed  on  this  fatal  emergency,  not 
only  respecting  your  deplorable  circumstances,  but  for  the 
security  of  our  common  rights.  Such  being  our  sentiments, 


180  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

it  must  be  premature  to  pronounce  any  judgment  on  the  ex 
pedient  which  you  have  suggested. 

"  *  We  beg,  however,  that  you  will  do  us  the  justice  to 
believe  that  we  shall  continue  to  act  with  a  firm  and  becom 
ing  regard  to  American  freedom,  and  to  co-operate  with  our 
sister-Colonies  in  every  measure  which  shall  be  thought 
salutary  and  conducive  to  the  public  good. 

"  *  We  have  nothing  to  add,  but  that  we  sincerely  condole 
with  you  in  your  unexampled  distress,  and  to  request  your 
speedy  opinion  of  the  proposed  Congress  that,  if  it  should 
meet  with  your  approbation,  we  may  exert  our  utmost  en 
deavors  to  carry  it  into  execution. 

"4  We  are,  etc.' 

' '  Ordered,  That  the  chairman  send  a  copy  of  this  letter  to 
the  committee  at  Boston  and  to  the  Committee  of  Corres 
pondence  at  Philadelphia,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  a 
copy  of  their  letter  to  Boston,  approving  the  sentiments 
contained  in  it. 

"  The  committee  ad joumed  to  the  Exchange,  to  meet  on 
the  30  of  May  inst.  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening." 

Copy  of  the  letter  sent  by  the  New  York  committee  to  the 
Committee  of  Correspondence  in  Boston : 

"  NEW  YORK,  June  7, 1774. 

"GENTLEMEN:  We  have  received  your  favor  of  the  30th 
May,  and  you  may  rest  assured  we  shall  eagerly  embrace 
all  proper  opportunities  of  contributing  our  mite  towards 
bringing  to  a  favorable  issue  the  unhappy  disputes  which 
at  present  subsist  between  the  parent-state  and  her  Colonies. 

"You  say  that  'a  speedy,  united,  and  vigorous  effort  is 
certainly  all  tha,t  can  be  depended  upon  to  yield  us  any 
effectual  relief,  and  that  this  effort  is  on  all  hands  acknowl 
edged  to  be  the  suspension  of  trade  so  wisely  defined  by 
you.' 

"  To  the  first  we  entirely  concur  with  you  in  sentiments; 
but  in  the  last  we  apprehend  you  have  made  a  mistake,  for, 
on  revising  our  letter  to  you,  so  far  from  finding  a  word 
mentioned  of  a  '  suspension  of  trade, '  the  idea  is  not  even 
conceived. 

"  That  and  every  other  resolution  we  have  thought  it  most 
prudent  to  leave  for  the  discussion  of  the  proposed  general 
Congress. 

"Adhering  therefore  to  that  measure  as  most  conducive  to 
promote  the  grand  system  of  politics  we  have  in  view,  we 
have  the  pleasure  to  acquaint  you  that  we  shall  be  ready  on 
our  part  to  meet  at  any  time  and  place  that  you  shall  think 
fit  to  appoint,  either  of  deputies  from  the  general  Assemblies, 
or  such  other  deputies  as  shall  be  chosen,  not  only  to  speak 
the  sentiments,  but  also  to  pledge  themselves  for  the  con 
duct  of  the  people  of  the  respective  Colonies  they  represent. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  181 

* '  We  can  undertake  to  assure  you,  in  behalf  of  the  people 
of  this  Colony,  that  they  will  readily  agree  to  any  measure 
that  shall  be  adopted  by  the  general  Congress.  It  will  be 
necessary  that  you  give  a  sufficient  time  for  the  deputies 
of  the  Colonies  as  far  southward  as  the  Carplinas  to  assem 
ble,  and  acquaint  them  as  soon  as  possible  with  the  proposed 
measures  of  Congress.  Your  letters  to  the  southward  of  us 
we  will  forward  with  great  pleasure. 

"You  may  have  seen  all  the  names  of  our  committee  in 
the  public  prints;  and  as  we  never  heard  the  names  of  those 
which  constitute  your  committee,  we  request  the  favor  of 
you  to  give  us  that  satisfaction  in  your  next.  We  beg  that 
your  letters  for  the  future  may  be  sealed  and  directed  to  our 
chairman. 

"We  are,  gentlemen,  your  friends  and  most  humble  ser 
vants.  By  order  of  the  committee, 

1  'I.  Low,  Chairman." 

South  Haven  (New  York)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  parish  of  South 
Haven,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk  and  Colony  of  New  York, 
the  13th  of  June,  1774,  Mr.  William  Smith  moderator, 

"  It  is  voted  and  agreed,  That  the  act  of  Parliament  for 
blocking  up  the  harbor  of  Boston  is  unconstitutional,  and 
has  a  direct  tendency  to  enslave  the  inhabitants  of  America 
and  put  an  end  to  all  property. 

"And  it  is  also  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that,  if  the 
Colonies  all  unite  and  strictly  adhere  to  a  non  importation 
agreement  from  Great  Britain  and  the  West  Indies,  and 
have  no  trade  with  them,  we  should  have  great  reason  to 
expect  in  a  short  time  a  repeal  of  that  oppressive  act;  and 
for  that  purpose  we  do  heartily  desire  that  such  an  agree 
ment  may  be  entered  into." 

On  the  17th  of  the  same  month  a  town  meeting  was 
held  at  Easthampton. 

Easthampton  (Suffolk  Co.,  N.  Y.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  East 
hampton,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  legally  warned  by  the 
trustees  of  said  town,  the  17th  of  June,  1774, 

"Eleazar  Miller,  Esq.,  moderator, 

"1st,  Voted,  That  we  will,  to  the  utmost  of  our  abilities, 
assert  and  in  a  lawful  manner  defend  the  liberties  and  immu 
nities  of  British  America ;  that  we  will  co-operate  with  pur 
brethren  in  this  Colony  in  such  measures  as  shall  from  time 
to  time  appear  to  us  the  most  proper  and  the  best  adapted  to 
save  us  from  the  burthens  we  fear,  and  in  a  measure  already 
feel,  from  the  principles  adopted  by  the  British  Parliament 
respecting  the  town  of  Boston  in  particular,  and  the  British 
Colonies  in  North  America  in  general. 


182  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"2d.  Voted,  That  a  non -importation  agreement  through 
the  Colonies  is  the  most  likely  means  to  save  us  from  pres 
ent  and  further  troubles." 

Hunting  ton  (Suffolk  Co.,  N.  Y.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  general  town  meeting  on  the  21st  day  of  June,  1774, 
the  inhabitants  of  Huntington  came  into  the  following  reso 
lutions  : 

k '  1st.  That  every  freeman's  property  is  absolutely  his  own ; 
and  that  no  man  has  a  right  to  take  it  from  him  without  his 
consent,  expressed  either  by  himself  or  his  representatives. 

"2d.  That  therefore  all  taxes  and  duties  imposed  on  his 
Majesty's  subjects  in  the  American  Colonies  by  the  authority 
of  Parliament  are  wholly  unconstitutional  and  a  plain  vio 
lation  of  the  most  essential  rights  of  the  British  subjects. 

' '  3d.  That  the  act  of  Parliament  lately  passed  for  shutting 
up  the  port  of  Boston,  or  any  other  means  or  device  under 
color  or  pretext  of  law  to  compel  them  or  any  other  of  his 
Majesty's  American  subjects  to  submit  to  Parliamentary 
taxation,  are  subversive  of  their  just  and  constitutional 
liberty. 

"4th.  That  we  are  of  opinion  that  our  brethren  of  Boston 
are  now  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of  British  America. 

"  5th.  That  therefore  it  io  the  indispensable  duty  of  all  the 
Colonies  upon  this  continent  to  unite  in  some  effectual  meas 
ures  for  the  repeal  of  the  said  act  for  shutting  up  the  port 
of  Boston,  and  every  other  act  of  Parliament  whereby  they 
are  taxed  for  raising  a  revenue. 

"  6th.  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting,  the  most 
effectual  means  for  obtaining  a  speedy  repeal  of  the  said  acts 
will  be  to  break  of  all  commercial  intercourse  with  Great 
Britain,  Ireland,  and  theEnglish  West  Indies  Colonies. 

"7th.  And  we  do  hereby  declare  ourselves  ready  to  enter 
into  these  or  such  other  measures  as  shall  be  agreed  upon 
by  a  general  Congress  of  all  the  Colonies ;  and  we  do  recom 
mend  to  the  general  Congress  to  take  such  measures  as  shall 
be  most  effectual  to  prevent  such  goods  as  are  at  present  in 
America  from  being  raised  to  an  extravagant  price. 

"And  lastly,  We  do  choose  and  appoint  Colonel  Platt 
Conkling,  John  Sloss  Hobart,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Wicker 
for  a  committee  for  this  town,  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the 
committees  of  the  other  towns  in  the  county  as  a  general 
committee  for  the  county  to  correspond  with  the  commit 
tee  of  New  York. 

[Signed]  "ISRAEL  WOOD,  President." 

Orange  Town  (N.  F.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  Orange 
Town  and  Province,  of  New  York,  on  Monday  the  4th  day 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  183 

of  July,  1774,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Yoast  Mabie,  in  said  town, 
the  following  resolves  were  agreed  upon  and  passed,  viz. : 

"1st.  That  we  are  and  ever  wish  to  be  true  and  loyal 
subjects  of  his  Majesty  George  the  Third,  King  of  Great 
Britain. 

"2d.  That  we  are  most  cordially  disposed  to  support  his 
Majesty  and  defend  his  Crown  and  dignity  in  every  Consti 
tutional  measure  as  far  as  lies  in  our  power, 

"3d.  That  however  well  disposed  we  are  toward  his  Ma 
jesty,  we  cannot  see  the  late  acts  of  Parlament  imposing 
duties  upon  us,  and  the  act  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Bos 
ton,  without  declaring  our  abhorrence  of  measures  so  uncon 
stitutional  and  big  with  destruction. 

"  5th.  That  it  is  our  unanimous  opinion  that  the  stopping 
all  exportation  and  importation  to  and  from  Great  Britain 
and  the  West  Indies  would  be  the  most  effectual  method 
to  obtain  a  speedy  repeal. 

"  6th.  That  it  is  our  most  ardent  wish  to  see  concord  and 
harmony  restored  to  England  and  her  Colonies. 

"7th.  That  the  following  gentlemen,  to  wit:  Colonel  Abra 
ham  Lent,  John  Haring,  Esq.,  Mr.  Thomas  Out  water,  Mr. 
Gardiner  Jones,  and  Peter  T.  Haring,  Esq.,  be  a  committee 
for  this  town  to  correspond  with  the  city  of  New  York,  and 
to  conclude  and  agree  upon  such  measures  as  they  shall 
judge  necessary  in  order  to  obtain  a  repeal  of  said  acts." 

Rye  (New  York)  Resolutions. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  1774,  the  freeholders  and  inhabit 
ants  of  the  township  of  Eye  made  choice  of  John  Thomas, 
Jr.,  James  Horton,  Jr.,  Esq.,  Bobert  Bloomer,  Zeno  Car 
penter,  and  Ebenezer  Haviland  for  a  committee  to  consult 
and  determine,  with  the  committees  of  the  other  towns  and 
districts  in  the  county  of  Westchester,  upon  the  expediency 
of  sending  one  or  more  Delegates  to  Congress,  to  be  held  in 
Philadelphia  on  the  first  day  of  September  next. 

"Eesolved,  1st,  That  they  think  it  their  greatest  happiness 
to  live  under  the  illustrious  house  of  Hanover,  and  that  they 
will  steadfastly  and  uniformly  bear  true  faith  and  allegiance 
to  his  Majesty  King  George  the  Third,  under  the  enjoyment 
of  their  Constitutional  rights  and  privileges  as  fellow-subjects 
with  those  in  England. 

"  2d.  That  we  conceive  it  a  fundamental  part  of  the  British 
Constitution  that  no  man  shall  be  taxed  but  by  his  own  con 
sent  or  that  of  his  representatives  in  Parliament;  and  as  we 
are  by  no  means  represented,  we  consider  all  acts  of  Parlia 
ment  imposing  taxes  on  the  Colonies  an  undue  exertion  of 
power  and  subversion  of  one  of  the  most  valuable  privileges 
of  the  English  Constitution. 

"3d.  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the  act  of 


184  THE  Bl&TH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Parliament  for  the  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston  and  di 
vesting  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  private  property  is  a  most 
unparalleled,  rigorous,  and  unjust  piece  of  cruelty  and  des 
potism. 

' '  4th.  That  unanimity  and  firmness  of  measures  in  the  Col 
onies  are  the  most  effectual  means  to  secure  the  invaded 
rights  and  privileges  of  America,  and  to  avoid  the  impend 
ing  ruin  which  now  threatens  this  once  happy  country. 

''5th.  That  the  most  effectual  mode  of  redressing  our  griev 
ances  will  be  by  general  Congress  of  Delegates  from  the  dif 
ferent  Colonies;  and  that  we  are  willing  to  abide  by  such 
measures  as  they  in  their  wisdom  shall  consider  necessary 
to  be  adopted  on  that  important  occasion. 

"  By  order  of  the  Committee. 

"EBENEZER  HAVILAND,  Chairman." 

Westchester  (N.  F.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the 
borough  town  of  Westchester,  in  New  York,  the  20th  day 
of  August,  1774, 

"  Resolved,  1st,  That  we  do  and  will  bear  true  allegiance  to 
his  Majesty  George  the  Third,  King  of  Great  Britain,  and  ac 
cording  to  the  British  Constitution. 

4 '3d.  That  we  coincide  in  opinion  with  our  friends  in  New 
York  and  every  other  Colony,  that  all  acts  of  the  British 
Parliament  imposing  taxes  on  the  Colonies,  without  their 
consent  or  by  their  representatives,  are  arbitrary  and  op 
pressive,  and  should  meet  the  abhorrence  and  destination  of 
all  good  men;  that  they  are  replete  with  the  purpose  of 
creating  animosities  and  dissensions  between  the  mother- 
country  and  the  Colonies,  and  thereby  tend  to  destroy  the 
harmony  and  mutual  agreement  which  it  is  so  much  the  in 
terest  or  both  to  cherish  and  maintain. 

"  3d.  That  we  esteem  it  our  duty,  and  think  it  incumbent 
on  all  the  Colonies  in  America,  to  contribute  towards  the  re 
lief  of  the  poor  and  distressed  people  of  Boston ;  and  that  a 
person  of  this  borough  be  appointed  to  collect  such  chari 
table  donations  within  the  same  as  may  be  offered  for  their 
support." 

Palatine  (Try on  County,  N.  Y.)  Resolutions. 

Resolutions  adopted  by  the  inhabitants  of  Palatine  dis 
trict,  Tryon  county,  New  York,  at  a  meeting  held  August 
27,  1774: 

"3d.  That  we  think  it  our  undeniable  privilege  to  be  taxed 
only  with  our  own  consent,  given  by  ourselves  or  our  repre 
sentatives. 

"  That  taxes  otherwise  laid  and  exacted  are  unjust  and  un 
constitutional.  That  the  late  acts  of  Parliament  declarative 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  185 

of  oheir  right  of  laying  internal  taxes  on  the  American  Colo 
nies  are  obvious  encroachments  on  the  rights  and  liberties 
of  the  British  subjects  in  America. 

"  4th.  That  the  act  for  blocking  up  the  port  of  Boston  is  op 
pressive  and  arbitrary,  injurious  in  its  principles,  and  par 
ticularly  oppressive  to  the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  whom  we 
consider  brethren  suffering  in  the  common  cause. 

"  5th.  That  we  will  unite  and  join  with  the  different  dis 
tricts  of  this  county  in  giving  whatever  relief  it  is  in  our 
power,  to  the  poor,  distressed  inhabitants  of  Boston ;  and  that 
we  will  join  and  unite  with  our  brethren  of  the  rest  of  this 
Colony  in  anything  tending  to  support  and  defend  our  rights 
and  liberties." 

Jamaica  (N.  F.)  Town  Meeting. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  Ja 
maica,  in  Queen's  county,  held  in  the  Court-house  on  Tues 
day  the  6th  December,  1774, 

"Eesolved,  2d,  That  it  is  our  undoubted  right  to  be  taxed 
only  by  our  own  consent,  given  by  ourselves  or  our  repre 
sentatives;  and  that  all  acts  made  by  the  British  Parlia 
ment  imposing  taxes  on  the  Colonies  are  unjust,  unconstitu 
tional,  and  a  manifest  infringement  of  our  dearest  and  most 
valuable  privileges. 

"5th.  That  we  heartily  sympathize  with  our  brethren  of 
Boston  and  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  under  their  present  un 
exampled  sufferings,  and  that  we  regard  the  acts  of  Parlia 
ment  under  which  they  now  groan  as  cruel,  unjust,  uncon 
stitutional,  and  oppressive  in  the  highest  degree,  levelled  not 
only  at  them  in  particular,  but  at  the  liberties  of  the  other 
Colonies,  and  the  British  Empire  in  general ;  and  that  there 
fore  we  think  our  aforesaid  brethren,  as  sufferers  in  the  com 
mon  cause,  are  entitled  to  the  encoragement,  compassion, 
and  charitable  assistance  of  all  the  friends  of  liberty  and 
foes  of  oppression  both  in  England  and  America. 

"  Eesolved,  6,  That  we  do  most  gratefully  acknowledge  the 
difficult  and  important  services  rendered  to  their  country  by 
the  late  general  Congress  held  at  Philadelphia,  and  that  we 
do  highly  approve  of  the  measures  by  them  concerted  for  the 
public  good  of  their  constituents,  and  that  we  will  use  all 
prudent  and  constitutional  endeavors  to  carry  those  measures 
into  execution." 

Ulster  County  (N.  Y.}  Meeting. 

"At  a  meeting  of  a  great  number  of  the  most  respectable 
freeholders  of  the  towns  of  Kingston,  Hurley,  Marbletown, 
Rochester,  and  New  Paley,  in  the  town  of  Hurley,  in  Ulster 
county,  New  York,  on  Friday,  the  6th  day  of  January,  1775, 
a  committee  of  six  being  chosen,  viz. :  Colonel  Johannes 


186  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Hardenbergh,  Captain  John  Elmendorph,  Adrian  Wyckoop, 
Matthew  Contine,  Johannes  G.  Hardenbergh,  and  Jacob 
Hasbrouck,  Jr.,  Esqrs.,  of  whom  Colonel  Johannes  Harden 
bergh  was  chosen  chairman, — 

44  Resolved,  1st,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that 
we  most  heartily  approve  of  the  Association,  and  acquiesce 
in  all  the  other  measures  entered  into  by  the  late  general 
Congress,  and  we  will  use  every  means  in  our  power  to 
render  them  effectual ;  and  that  it  is  recommended  to  the 
several  towns  and  precincts  within  this  county  to  choose 
committees  to  see  the  same  faithfully  observed  and  carried 
into  execution. 

"A  certain  pamphlet  entitled  "Free  Thoughts  on  the  Re 
solves  of  the  Congress,"  etc.,  under  the  signature  of  A.  W. 
Farmer,  dated  November  16,  1774,  being  then  produced  and 
publicly  read,  it  was, — 

"  Resolved,  3d,  That  it  is  replete  with  falsehoods  artfully 
calculated  to  impose  upon  the  illiterate  and  unthinking ;  to 
frustrate  the  resolves  of  the  Congress,  and  to  destroy  that 
union  so  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  our  constitutional 
liberty;  therefore, — 

"  Resolved,  3d,  That  the  said  pamphlet,  in  detestation  and 
abhorrence  of  such  infamous  publications,  be  now  burnt ;  and 
that  the  authors,  publishers,  and  circulators  of  such  perform 
ances  be  henceforth  deemed  the  enemies  of  their  country. 

"Resolved,  4th,  That  the  chairman  transmit  copies  of  the 
above  resolves  to  the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  for  the 
several  towns  and  precincts  within  this  county. 

"Which  resolves  being  read  and  unanimously  approved, 
the  above  pamphlet  was  burnt  accordingly. 

"Ordered  likewise,  That  the  resolves  be  printed." 

Hanover  (N.  Y.)  Committee. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  of  the  precinct  of  Hanover, 
in  Ulster  county,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Ajrthur  Parks,  on  Fri 
day  the  27th  pi  January,  1775,  a  committee  of  the  following 
gentlemen  being  chosen,  viz. :  Charles  Clinton,  Alexander 
Trimble,  Arthur  Parks,  Hendrick  Smith,  James  Latta,  Wil 
liam  Jackson,  and  Jacob  Newkirk;  Charles  Clinton  was 
chosen  chairman,  and  the  following  resolves  were  made: 

"'1st.  Resolved,  That  this  meeting  do  unanimously  ap 
prove  of  the  association,  and  gratefully  rely  on  the  wise  and 
patriotic  measures  of  the  late  Continental  Congress,  and 
that  we  will,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  use  every  prudent 
measure  to  render  them  effectual ;  at  the  same  time,  that  we 
will  earnestly  recommend  to  the  respective  towns  and  pre 
cincts  within  this  county  to  choose  committees  to  act  for 
their  respective  districts  in  conjunction  with  us.' 

"A  certain  pamphlet  entitled  'Free  Thoughts  on  the  Re- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  187 

solves  of  the  Congress'  being  then  exhibited  and  publicly 
read,  it  was 

"  '  2d,  Resolved,  That  it  contains  a  false  but  specious  show 
of  reasoning,  contrived  only  to  induce  the  ignorant  and 
credulous  to  counteract  the  resolves  of  the  Congress,  by  dis 
couraging  that  happy  union  that  subsists  among  us  for  the 
preservation  of  our  constitutional  liberty. ' 

"  '  3d,  Resolved,  That  the  said  pamphlet,  exemplary  to  all 
such  guilty  performances,  be  now  publicly  burnt,  and  that 
the  authors  and  propagators  of  such  performance  be  held  in 
due  contempt  as  enemies  of  their  country.' 

'"  It  was  burnt  accordingly. 

"Signed  by  order  of  the  committee. 

"CHARLES  CLINTON,  Chairman" 

The  Congress  at  Philadelphia  having  recommended  non 
importation,  the  committee  of  fifty-one,  of  New  York,  re 
signed,  and  a  new  committee  of  sixty  was  appointed  to 
execute  the  plan  of  Congress.  Coldeii,  December  7th,  says 
that  the  moderate  men  in  the  committee  were  obliged  to 
support  the  measures  of  Congress  in  order  to  save  the  city 
from  destruction  by  the  mob, — a  pretty  sure  sign  that  the 
body  of  the  people  were  in  sympathy  with  that  body.  The 
Assembly  held  out  against  the  ratification  of  the  recommen 
dations  of  the  Continental  Congress;  and  this  fact  served 
to  delude  Colden  with  the  hope  that  the  Province  would 
remain  firm  in  the  support  of  the  measures  of  the  govern 
ment;  but  there  were  other  facts  that  he  could  not  quite 
reconcile  with  this  happy  state  of  things.  On  the  1st  March, 
1775,  he  wrote  to  Dartmouth  as  follows : 

"  It  is  surprising,  my  lord,  that,  notwithstanding  the  firm 
ness  with  which  the  Assembly  have  discountenanced  the 
measures  of  the  late  Congress,  and  the  approbation  this  part 
of  their  conduct  has  received  from  a  large  majority  of  their 
constituents,  the  non-importion  association  of  the  Congress 
is  ever  rigidly  maintained  in  this  place." 

This  admission  of  the  Lieutenant-governor  proves  that, 
when  he  says  that  a  "large  majority  of  the  constituents" 
of  the  Assembly  approved  their  rejection  of  the  measures 
of  Congress,  he  refers  to  the  wealthy  class  of  gentlemen; 
while  there  must  have  been  a  decided  majority  of  the 
whole  people  in  favor  of  the  Congress  measures.  In  the 
same  letter  he  mentions  other  facts  equally  inconsistent 
with  the  statement  that  a  majority  of  the  people  were  op 
posed  to  the  measures  of  Congress.  He  says :  ' '  Two  vessels 
have  arrived  here  since  the  1st  of  February.  One  of  them, 
from  Glasgow,  has  been  obliged  to  depart  with  her  cargo  to 
Jamaica.  Neither  the  master  of  the  ship,  nor  the  merchant 
to  whom  the  cargo  was  consigned,  would  demand  any  assist 
ance,  or  showed  any  disposition  to  have  the  goods  landed. 
It  was  not  therefore  possible  for  government  to  interfere 


188  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

with  any  propriety.  The  second  ship  is  from  London ;  she 
still  lies  a  few  miles  below  the  harbor,  and,  it  is  said,  is  to 
carry  her  cargo  to  Halifax.  Neither  the  master  or  owners 
of  this  ship  or  cargo  have  made  any  application  to  govern 
ment.  The  success,  my  lord,  which  the  violent  party  have 
had  in  preventing  these  vessels  from  landing  their  cargoes 
here  has  given  them  great  spirits,  and  is  a  strong  counter 
poise  to  the  conduct  of  the  Assembly.  Your  lordship  will 
believe  me,  it  has  chagrined  me  a  good  deal." 

These  are  wretched  excuses  for  permitting  a  mob  to  block 
ade  the  harbor ;  and  it  would  have  shown  more  good  sense 
as  weU  as  candor  in  Golden  to  have  acknowledged  himself 
utterly  powerless  to  prevent  the  unlawful  proceeding.  But 
in  his  next  two  letters  he  had  to  confess  that  only  the  shadow 
of  the  British  government  remained  in  New  York.  The 
people  feeling  outraged  at  the  course  of  the  Assembly, 
elected  a  very  full  Provincial  Congress,  in  which  every 
county,  except  three  very  remote  and  inconsiderable  ones, 
were  represented.  They  proceeded  to  ratify  the  measures 
of  the  Continental  Congress  and  to  take  the  reins  of  local 
government  into  their  hands.  Golden  attempts  to  explain 
the  triumph  of  the  mob,  as  he  styles  the  people,  over  the 
higher  classes,  by  saying  that  a  combination  was  formed  in 
the  other  Colonies  to  crush  and  ruin  New  York  if  she  refused 
to  enter  into  their  measures ;  and  that  the  news  of  the  battles 
of  Lexington  and  Concord  so  increased  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  people  that  the  powers  of  government  were  completely 
prostrated.  But  the  whole  tenor  of  Colden's  letters  for  the 
five  preceding  years  shows  that  there  was  an  irrepressible 
sympathy  of  all  classes  with  the  cause  of  Massachusetts,  and 
that  it  was  only  held  in  check  by  the  mingled  terrorism  and 
blandishments  of  the  government. 

Early  in  June  open  appeals  were  made  to  the  handful  of 
British  troops  in  the  city  to  desert,  and  many  of  them  did  so. 
To  put  a  stop  to  the  desertion,  it  was  determined  to  ship  the 
troops  on  board  a  man-of-war.  But  so  bold  had  become  the 
rioters,  and  so  feeble  the  government,  that  even  this  meas 
ure  could  not  be  executed  without  insult  and  interruption. 
"As  soon  as  the  troops  marched  from  the  barracks,"  says 
Gulden,  **  several  people  began  to  harangue  them,  exhorting 
them  to  desert,  and  assuring  them  of  sufficient  protection. 
Two  or  three  fellows  had  the  hardiness  to  turn  off  with  their 
arms  from  the  ranks,  and  were  immediately  carried  away 
by  the  people."  When  the  troops  arrived  at  the  water's 
edge,  ready  to  embark,  the  mob  seized  and  carried  off  all 
the  ammunition  and  spare  arms,  and  u  the  troops  embarked 
without  their  baggage." 

On  the  llth  May,  1775,  the  "General  Committee  of  Asso 
ciation"  of  New  York  sent  an  address  to  the  Lieutenant- 
governor,  in  which  the  great  cause  for  which  the  Colonies 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  189 

were  struggling  is  stated  with  remarkable  clearness  and 
force.  The  following  extracts  will  serve  to  convey  a  notion 
of  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  address.  In  execution  of 
the  trust  reposed  in  them  by  the  people,  the  committee  de 
clare,— 

' '  That  our  constituents,  while  they  cheerfully  yield  that 
the  legislature  of  the  parent-state  may  make  provisions  in 
their  nature  merely  calculated  to  regulate  the  trade  of  the 
empire,  yet  they  claim  as  their  indefeasible  birthright  a  total 
exemption  from  all  taxes,  internal  and  external,  by  author 
ity  of  Parliament,  and  from  every  aid  to  the  Crown  but  on 
royal  requisition  to  their  representatives  in  Assembly,  con 
stitutionally  convened  and  freely  deliberating  and  deter 
mining  upon  every  such  requisition. 

"  That  they  never  can  nor  will  submit  to  the  establishment 
of  unconstitutional  admiralty  jurisdiction;  but  will  ever  re 
gard  them  as  engines  that  may  be  employed  for  the  most 
tyrannical  purposes. 

u  That  they  are  determined  never  to  part  with  their  pre 
cious  and  lately  invaded  right  of  trial  by  peers  of  their 
vicinage  in  any  case  whatsoever. 

"  That  they  look  with  the  utmost  dread  on  every  expe 
dient,  by  authority  of  Parliament  or  otherwise,  that  may 
tend  to  secure  from  condign  punishment  offenders  against 
the  most  essential  rights  of  human  nature,  by  removing 
them  for  their  trial  to  places  distant  from  the  scene  of  per- 
pet^ration,  at  the  discretion  of  a  governor  or  commander-in- 
chief. 

"  That  they  esteem,  and  therefore  will  by  every  lawful 
means  oppose,  the  late  oppressive  restraints  upon  commerce, 
as  subversive  in  their  nature  of  the  liberties  of  America. 

"That  they  regard  the  hostile  blockade  of  the  port  of  Bos 
ton,  the  attack  upon  the  venerable  Charter  of  Rights  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  the  extension  of  the  bounds  of  Quebec,  the  estab 
lishment  of  popery,  and  an  arbitrary  form  of  government 
in  that  Province,  and  the  exclusive  privileges  virtually 
given  to  it  in  the  Indian  trade,  as  so  many  steps  of  an  ill- 
judging  administration  that  most  eminently  endanger  the 
liberty  and  prosperity  of  the  whole  empire. 

"That  they  view  with  inexpressible  horror  the  bloody 
standard  erected  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Confederated 
Colonies;  and  feel  as  in  their  own  bodies  every  stroke  which 
their  brave  compatriots  have  received  from  the  hands  of 
their  fellow-subjects,  cruelly  and  unnaturally  armed  against 
them  by  mistaken  Ministerial  severity. 

"  In  short,  that  they  are  determined  to  equip  themselves 
for  maintaining  with  successful  bravery  and  resolution,  the 
unquestionable  rights  of  Englishmen." 

The  whole  address  is  conceived  in  this  manly  spirit,  while 
it  is  perfectly  respectful  to  the  Lieutenant-governor.  His 


190  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

reply  is  equally  courteous,  and  evinces  a  conviction  that  a 
redress  of  the  popular  grievances  was  a  prerequisite  to  the 
restoration  of  peace.  It  is  due  to  Golden,  and  to  Tryon,  to 
say  that  they  were  both  convinced  of  this  fact,  and  that 
they  had  the  candor  to  express  the  opinion  in  their  com 
munications  with  the  government. 

In  Tryon's  letter  to  Earl  Dartmouth,  dated  New  York, 
July  4,  1775,  he  announces  his  return  to  the  Colony  in  the 
following  significant  language  :  "I  arrived  in  the  Govern 
ment  the  25th  of  last  month,  with  apparent  satisfaction  to 
the  inhabitants  of  this  city,  and  received  the  next  morning 
the  great  seal  of  the  Province,  and  the  diminished  authority 
the  Lieutenant  governor  had  to  transfer  to  me. 

"The  general  revolt  that  has  taken  place  in  the  Colonies 
has  put  his  Majesty's  civil  Governors  in  the  most  degraded 
situation,  left  in  the  exercise  of  only  such  feeble  executive 
powers  as  suits  the  present  conveniences  of  the  country,  and 
this  dependent  on  the  caprice  of  a  moment." 

In  the  same  letter  Tryson  sagaciously  remarks  :  "If  it 
were  the  wish,  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  any  one  Province  to 
accommodate  with  Great  Britain,  being  overawed  and  con 
trolled  by  the  general  confederacy.  Oceans  of  blood  may 
be  spilt,  but  in  my  opinion  America  will  never  receive  Par 
liamentary  taxation.  I  do  not  meet  with  any  of  the  inhabi 
tants  who  show  the  smallest  inclination  to  draw  the  sword 
in  support  of  that  principle.  I  apprehend,  the  extremity  of 
calamity  which  threatens  America  will  not  induce  her  to 
accept." 

Three  days  later  Tryon  asks  leave  to  return  to  England  a  b 
his  discretion,  "it  being  very  probable,"  he  declares,  "I 
may  be  either  taken  prisoner  as  a  state  hostage,  or  obliged 
to  retire  on  board  of  his  Majesty's  ships  of  war,  to  avoid  the 
insolence  of  an  inflamed  mob,"  etc. 

On  the  same  date  he  writes  that  the  Mayor  and  Corpora 
tion  had  come  to  a  resolution  to  present  him  an  address  ;  but 
that  they  had  been  forbidden  to  do  so  by  the  Provincial 
Congress,  and  must  yield.  They,  however,  privately  left 
with  him  a  copy,  to  which  he  graciously  made  a  reply.  But 
in  his  letter  to  Dartmouth  he  says  "That  the  intimidation 
and  apprehension  under  which  the  Mayor  and  Corporation 
have  acted  on  this  occasion  is  a  melancholy  evidence  of  the 
impotence  of  his  Majesty's  officers  and  Ministers  of  Justice 
of  this  Province,  and  of  the  despotic  power  with  which  con 
gresses  and  committees  can  control  any  body  of  people 
among  the  inhabitants  of  America." 

The  following  is  the  polite  admonition  of  the  Congress  to 
the  Mayor  and  Corporation.  It  is  admirable  as  an  intimation 
of  reserved  power  : 

"  IN  PROVINCIAL  CONGRESS,  NEW  YORK,  { 
July  5.  1775.  \ 

"  This  Congress,  being  informed  that  the  Corporation  of 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  191 

the  city  of  New  York  intend  to  address  his  Excellency 
Governor  Try  on, 

"  Eesolved,  That  though  this  Congress  entertain  the  high 
est  respect  for  his  Excellency,  yet  it  will  be  altogether 
improper  for  the  said  corporation,  or  any  other  body  corpo 
rate  or  individuals  in  this  Colony,  to  address  his  Excellency 
at  this  most  critical  juncture.  Eesolved  also,  That  one  of 
the  secretaries  of  this  Congress  do  forthwith  serve  his  Wor 
ship  the  Mayor  with  a  copy  hereof.' 

"  A  true  copy  from  the  minutes. 

"KOBT.  BENSON,  Secretary." 

"  The  above  copy  of  an  order  was  served  on  me  the  day  of 
the  date  thereof. 

u  WHITEHEAD  HICKS,  Mayor." 

On  the  23d  August,  the  citizens  carried  off  twenty-one 
pieces  of  ordnance  from  the  battery  under  Fort  George,  and 
ransacked  the  Governor's  house  in  search  of  Captain  Foy. 
Notwithstanding  this  and  similar  instances  of  rough  treat 
ment,  Try  on  became  more  fully  persuaded  that  the  Govern 
ment  of  Great  Britain  should  desist  from  the  policy  of  taxing 
America  ;  and  that  the  Americans  would  never  lay  down 
their  arms  ' '  unless  they  are  called  back  by  some  liberal  and 
conciliatory  assurances."  He  seems  to  have  been  the  only 
one  ef  the  royal  Governors  who  was  capable  of  comprehend 
ing  the  situation  of  affairs.  "  The  Colonies  have  outgrown 
the  goveriimerit  anciently  set  over  them,"  said  he,  **  which 
ought  to  rise  in  strength  and  dignity  as  they  increase  in 
wealth  and  population."  These  were  the  views  of  a  states 
man  ;  and  if  as  much  wisdom  had  ruled  in  the  British  Cabi 
net  as  was  sent  to  administer  the  local  affairs  of  New  York, 
the  independence  of  America  would  have  been  postponed 
for  a  generation  at  least. 

On  the  19th  October,  Governor  Tryon  left  his  residence  in 
the  city,  and  went  on  board  a  British  vessel  in  the  harbor, 
as  a  measure'  of  security  for  his  person.  This  was  after  a 
correspondence  with  the  Mayor,  in  which  he  required  a 
guaranty  of  security  against  arrest  and  insult  as  a  condition 
of  his  remaining  longer  in  the  city.  Both  the  Mayor  and 
corporate  authorities,  and  the  committee,  expressed  an 
earnest  desire  for  him  to  remain  :  but  they  failed  to  give  him 
the  positive  assurance  he  demanded,  and  he  therefore  re 
tired  on  board  a  ship  under  the  protection  of  the  Asia  man- 
of-war.  All  the  Crown  officers  followed  his  example  ; 
leaving  the  control  of  affairs  entirely  to  the  Provincial  Con 
gress. 

In  November  a  general  permission  was  sent  from  the 
King,  through  Earl  Dartmouth,  to  the  colonial  Governors 
and  King's  officers,  to  leave  their  posts  whenever  their  safety 
should  demand  the  step.  Most  of  them  had  acted  on  this 
principle  long  before  the  permission  arrived, 


192  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

The  following  "  letter  produced  to  the  Continental  Con 
gress  and  the  copy  sent  to  this,  in  New  York,'  induced  Tryon 
to  desert  the  shore  : 

"Tryon,  with  all  his  malignity  of  heart,  is  obliged  to  lay 
still  as  the  four  regiments  are  gone  to  Boston  ;  he  is  high 
in  esteem  with  administration  for  his  behavior  at  N. 
Carolina;  his  plan  that  he  laid  for  enslaving  his  country 
when  in  England  is  not  laid  aside.  It  will  be  a  capital 
stroke  to  secure  Governor  Tryon's  person." 

The  reference  above  is  to  Tryon's  suppression  of  the  Reg 
ulators  in  North  Carolina,  which  will  be  treated  of  in  its 
proper  place  His  extravagant  expenditures  while  Gov 
ernor  of  that  Colony,  and  the  corrupt  practices  of  his  sub 
ordinates,  provoked  the  revolt  of  the  common  people,  under 
the  name  of  Regulators. 

This  narrative  thus  far,  and  much  of  that  which  follows, 
has  been  gathered  from  the  copious  New  York  historical 
collection  made  by  Dr.  O'Callaghan.  Strange  to  say,  with 
the  most  ample  materials  at  hand,  the  history  of  New  York 
has  never  been  written,  except  in  meagre  and  fragmentary 
parts.  As  to  the  Colonial  period,  her  histories,  so  far  as  I 
can  find,  are  mere  sketches. 

Meeting  of  Freeholders,  etc.,  in  New  Windsor  (Ulster 
County),  New  York: 

"March  14,  1775. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants 
of  the  precinct  of  New  Windsor,  in  the  county  of  Ulster 
and  Province  of  New  York,  legally  convened  by  mutual  con 
sent  in  order  to  elect  a  Committee  of  Observation  and  de 
liberate  on  other  matters  relative  to  our  political  welfare, 
this  14th  day  of  March,  1775  ;  then  proceeded  and  chose 
Mr.  George  Denniston,  chairman  and  the  following  persons 
for  the  above-named  commit  tee,  viz.  :  Mr.  George  Denniston, 
Mr.  Robert  Cross,  Mr.  Joseph  Belknap,  Mr.  Francis  Mande- 
ville,  Mr.  Nuoc  Shutts,  and  Mr.  Hezekiah  White  ;  after 
wards  did  solemnly  agree  to  and  with  each  other  in  observ 
ing  the  following  resolutions  ourselves,  and,  as  far  as  our 
influence  may  extend,  recommend  them  to  the  observation  of 
others,  viz.  : 

u  Resolved,  2dly,  nem.  con.,  That  we  will  yield  to  none  in 
point  of  affection,  and  loyalty  to  our  most  gracious  sover 
eign,  but  will  each  one  for  himself,  when  thereto  legally 
called  (even  though  to  the  most  distant  and  remote  parts  of 
his  Majesty's  empire),  venture  our  lives  and  properties  in 
defence  of  our  sovereign's  person,  family,  and  government, 
when  exercised  on  the  above-named  principles.  It  is  with 
the  greatest  regret  and  deepest  concern  of  heart,  we  conceive 
a  plan  adopted  and  invariably  pursued  for  a  number  of 
years  past  by  the  British  Parliament  for  enslaving  us  by 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  193 

levying  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent,  and  declaring  they 
(the  Parliament)  are  fully  vested  with  power  to  make  laws 
obligatory  on  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

"Resolved  therefore,  3dly,  nem.  con.,  That  such  declara 
tions  and  unbounded  power  assumed  are  subversive  of  our 
natural  and  legal  rights  as  British  subjects;  and  that  we 
would  be  far  deficient  in  point  of  duty  to  our  King  and  the 
British  Constitution  were  we  to  yield  a  tame  submission  to 
them. 

"But  as  the  wisdom  and  prudence  of  the  whole  continent 
had  been  called  forth  in  appointing  and  holding  a  Constitu 
tional  Congress  in  order  to  state  our  grievances  and  point 
out  the  means  by  which  we  may  be  relieved  from  them, 

"Resolved,  4thly,  nem.  con.,  That  we  do  sincerely  and 
willingly  accord  to  the  Association  entered  into  by  that  body, 
with  a  full  determination  to  abide  by  and  observe  the  same, 
and  do  unfeigned] y^  thank  our  worthy  Delegates  of  the  Prov 
ince  of  New  York,  in  conjunction  with  the  rest  of  that  honor 
able  body,  for  the  care  they  have  taken  for  the  security  of 
our  liberties,  and  the  patriotic  principles  they  have  exhibited 
to  the  world,  which  will  remain  more  sure  and  permanent 
in  the  annals  of  American  history  than  monuments  either 
of  brass  or  marble  erected  to  the  honor  and  perpetuity  of 
their  memory." 

ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW  YORK. 

"  NEW  YORK,  May  4,  1775. 

"The  following  Association  was  set  on  foot  here  last 
Saturday,  April  29th,  and  has  been  transmitted  for  signing 
to  all  the  counties  in  the  Province,  and.  signed  by  most  of 
the  men  of  this  city : 

1  *  Persuaded  that  the  salvation  of  the  rights  and  liberties 
of  America  depend  under  God  on  the  firm  union  of  its  in 
habitants  in  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  measures  neces 
sary  for  its  safety,  and  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  prevent 
ing  the  anarchy  and  confusion  which  attend  a  dissolution  of 
the  powers  of  government;  we,  the  freemen,  freeholders, 
and  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  county  of  New  York,  being 
greatly  alarmed  at  the  avowed  design  of  the  Ministry  to 
raise  a  revenue  in  America,  and  shocked  by  the  bloody 
scene  now  acting  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  do  in  the  most 
solemn  manner  resolve  never  to  become  slaves;  and  do  as 
sociate  under  all  the  ties  of  religion,  honor,  and  love  of  coun 
try  to  adopt  and  endeavor  to  carry  into  execution  whatever 
measures  may  be  recommended  by  the  Continental  Congress, 
or  resolved  upon  by  our  Provincial  Convention,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  preserving  our  Constitution  and  opposing  the  execu 
tion  of  the  several  arbitrary  and  oppressive  acts  of  the 
British  Parliament,  until  a  reconciliation  between  Great' 
Britain  and  America  on  Constitutional  principles  (which  we 


194  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

most  ardently  desire)  can  be  obtained ;  and  that  we  will  in 
all  things  follow  the  advice  of  our  General  Committee  re 
specting  the  purposes  aforesaid — the  preservation  of  peace 
and  good  order,  and  the  safety  of  individuals  and  private 
property." 

Cumberland  County  (N.  F.)  Committee. 

"At  a  full  meeting  of  the  Delegates  from  the  several  towns 
in  the  county  of  Cumberland,  Colony  of  New  York,  convened 
at  Westminster,  June  6,  1775 : 

"  The  county  of  Cumberland,  having  received  certain  intel 
ligence  from  Mr.  Isaac  Low,  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Correspondence  at  New  York,  that  it  is  the  desire  of  the  said 
respectable  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  New  York  that 
the  sense  of  the  people  in  said  county  of  Cumberland  should 
be  fully  known  with  regard  to  the  hostile  measures  that  are 
using  by  the  British  Parliament  to  enforce  the  late  cruel, 
unjust,  and  oppressive  acts  of  said  British  Parliament 
through  the  British  Colonies  in  America;— we,  the  Delegatss 
from  the  several  towns  and  districts  in  said  county  of  Cum 
berland,  being  chosen  by  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of 
the  same  to  exhibit  to  the  Provincial  Congress  the  sense  and 
voice  of  the  people  with  regard  to  the  unjust  proceedings 
of  the  British  Parliament,  etc.,  do  pass  the  following  re 
solves  : 

"1st.  Resolved,  nem.  con.,  That  the  late  acts  of  the  British 
Parliament  passed  in  order  to  raise  a  revenue  in  America 
are  unjust,  illegal,  and  diametrically  opposite  to  the  Bill  of 
Eights  and  a  fundamental  principle  of  the  British  Constitu 
tion  which  is  '  that  no  person  shall  have  his  property  taken 
from  him  without  his  consent.' 

"2d.  Resolved,  nem.  con.,  That  we  will  resist  and  oppose 
the  said  acts  of  Parliament,  in  conjunction  with  our  brethren 
in  America,  at  the  expense  of  our  lives  and  fortunes,  to  the 
last  extremity,  if  our  duty  to  God  and  our  country  require 
the  same. 

"3d.  Resolved,  nem.  con.,  That  we  think  it  needless  to 
pass  many  resolves  exhibiting  our  sentiments  with  regard 
to  the  unhappy  controversy  subsisting  between  Great  Britain 
and  America.  Let  it  suffice,  therefore,  that  we  fully  ac 
quiesce  with  what  our  brethren  have  lately  done  at  New 
York  in  their  late  Association ;  and  it  is  hereby  resolved,  That 
the  late  Association  entered  into  at  New  York  is  perfectly 
agreeable  to  the  sentiments  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitant  s 
ot  this  county,  and  that  they  fully  acquiesce  in  the  same." 

BrooJchaven  (New  York}  Committee. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of 
the  town  of  Brookhaven,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk  and 
Province  of  New  York,  on  the  8th  day  of  June,  1775 :  Then 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  195 

by  a  large  majority  of  votes  were  chosen  and  elected  sixteen 
persons  as  a  Committee  of  Observation  to  represent  said 
town,  and  to  deliberate  on  other  matters  relative  to  our 
present  political  welfare. 

"  Agreed  that  the  last  Tuesday  in  June  be  appointed  as  a 
day  for  the  above-named  committee  to  meet." 

"Then  proceeded  and  chose  John  Woodhull,  Esq.,  chair 
man,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Thompson,  clerk,  and  entered  into 
the  following  votes  and  resolutions : 

"  1st.  Resolved,  nem.  con.,  That  we  express  our  loyalty  to 
his  Majesty  King  George  the  Third,  and  acknowledge  him 
as  our  rightful  lord  and  sovereign,  as  settled  on  Revolu 
tionary  principles,  being  of  legal  descent  from  the  illustrious 
house  of  Brunswick,  to  the  utter  exclusion  of  the  family  of 
the  Stuarts,  who  by  their  despotic  and  tyrannical  principles 
were  deservedly  banished  and  rendered  unfit  to  sway  the 
British  sceptre. 

U2d.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee 
that  the  above  resolution  was  the  opinion  of  the  Continental 
Congress  that  sat  last  year,  and  is  also  the  opinion  of  the 
Continental  Congress  and  our  Provincial  Congress  now  sit 
ting  ;  and  that  it  is  also  the  opinion  of  very  far  the  greater 
part  of  English  inhabitants  of  this  most  extensive  continent. 

"3d.  Resolved  unanimously,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
committee  that  the  several  acts  passed  in  the  British  Parlia 
ment  for  the  express  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America ; 
also  the  acts  for  stopping  the  port  of  Boston,  for  altering 
their  charter  and  government,  for  establishing  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  and  abolishing  the  equitable  system  of 
English  laws,  and  erecting  in  their  stead  French  despotic 
government  in  Canada ;  as  also  the  act  for  restraining  the 
New  England  fishery,  and  many  other  acts  of  a  similar  nat 
ure  ;  and  further  declaring  they  have  power  vested  in  them 
to  make  laws  binding  on  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever,— are  con 
trary  to  the  Constitution  and  subsersive  of  our  legal  rights 
as  English  freemen  and  British  subjects. 

"4th.  Resolved,  nem.  con.,  That  we  will  use  our  utmost 
endeavors  as  far  as  in  us  lie,  and  we  will  earnestly  recom 
mend  it  to  our  constituents  strictly  and  invariably  to  abide 
by  and  adhere  to  the  determinations  and  resolutions  of  the 
honorable  the  Continental  Congress  and  also  strictly  to 
comply  with  the  injunctions  of  our  Provincial  Convention, 
which  (under  God),  we  hope  is  the  most  effectual  means  to 
obtain  a  redress  of  our  present  public  grievances,  and  save 
us  from  impending  ruin. 

"A  Committee  of  Correspondence  was  also  appointed  by 
the  Assembly,  which  approved  of  a  general  Congress." 

The  mechanics  were  organized  into  an  association,  and  it 
was  found  expedient  to  consult  their  views  and  wishes. 

On  the  6th  July,  1774,  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  the 


196  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"  Fields,"  which  favored  more  vigorous  measures  than  those 
proposed  by  the  committee.  Kesolutions  were  adopted 
which  denounced  the  Boston  Port  Bill  as  ''oppressive  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town,  unconstitutional  in  its  principles, 
and  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  British  America."  They 
also  resolved  in  favor  of  non-intercourse,  and  in  favor  of 
sending  relief  to  the  distressed  inhabitants  of  Boston.  This 
meeting  was  presided  over  by  Alexander  McDouprall,  whom 
Lieutenant-governor  Golden  styled  the  John  Wilkes  of 
America.  Though  a  member  or  the  committee,  he  was  too 
radical  for  that  body,  and  this  meeting  was  called  without 
its  approbation  and  disapproved  of.  The  other  members  of 
the  committee  who  participated  in  this  meeting  in  the 
"Fields," — the  Bowery — were  Francis  Lewis,  Joseph  Hal- 
lett,  P.  V.  B.  Livingston,  Isaac  Sears,  Thomas  Band  all, 
Abraham  P.  Lott,  and  Leonard  Lispenard.  They  withdrew 
from  the  Committee ;  and  were  joined  in  this  step  by  three 
other  members  who  were  not  present,  viz. :  John  Browne, 
Abraham  Brosher,  and  Jacobus  van  Zandt. 

Notwithstanding  this  schism,  all  parties  agreed  in  sending 
the  same  five  Delegates  to  Philadelphia,  who  were  pledged 
to  vote  for  non-importation. 

The  committee,  at  a  meeting  on  May  8, 1775,  denounced  as 
enemies  all  who  shall  sell  arms  to  persons  who  are  not 
friends  to  the  rights  of  the  Colony.  They  also  required  a 
regular  return  of  all  arms  on  hand  or  to  be  purchased. 

The  Delegates  in  the  Continental  Congress  were  not  au 
thorized  to  assent  to  a  Declaration  of  Independence,  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1776,  but  authority  was  promptly  given  when 
the  fact  was  made  known  to  the  convention  of  the  Colony, 
sitting  in  New  York  City,  July  9th. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

No  Colony  displayed  more  gratitude  to  the  King  and  Par 
liament  when  news  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  was  re 
ceived,  than  Pennsylvania,  as  has  been  seen  in  a  preceding 
chapter ;  but  when  that  repeal  was  followed  up  by  a  declar 
ation  of  the  right  of  the  Parliament  to  bind  the  Colonies 
"in  all  cases  whatsoever,"  and  by  the  practical  assertion  of 
that  claim  bv  the  passage  of  the  tax  on  paper,  glass,  tea, 
and  other  articles,  she  was  as  prompt  and  as  spontaneous  in 
her  opposition  as  the  foremost  of  her  sisters. 

On  the  20th  February,  1768,  the  Assembly  instructed  their 
agents  in  London  "to  co-operate  with  the  agents  of  the 
other  Colonies  in  any  decent  and  respectful  application  to 
Parliament,  in  case  such  application  should  be  made  by 
them,  for  a  repeal  of  the  late  acts  imposing  duties  on  the  im 
portation  of  paper,  glass,  etc.,  into  the  American  Provinces: 
which  act,  they  said,  was  looked  upon  as  highly  injurious 
to  the  rights  of  the  people  and  their  commercial  interest." 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  197 

"In  September  of  the  folio  wing  year,"  says  Gordon,  "the 
Governor  laid  before  them  a  letter  from  the  Earl  of  Hills- 
borough,  lately  appointed  to  the  new  office  of  Secretary  to 
the  Colonies,  denouncing  the  circular  [of  the  Massachusetts 
Assembly,  which  remonstrated  against  the  new  act  for  tax 
ing  the  Colonies]  as  of  the  most  dangerous  and  factious 
tendency,  calculated  to  inflame  the  minds  of  the  Colonists, 
promote  unwarrantable  combinations,  excite  and  encourage 
open  opposition  to  and  denial  of  the  authority  of  Parlia 
ment,  and  to  subvert  the  true  nrinciples  of  the  Constitution. 
He  was  commanded  '  to  use  his  utmost  influence  to  defeat 
this  flagitious  attempt  to  disturb  the  public  peace  by  pre 
vailing  upon  the  Assembly  of  his  Province  to  take  no  notice 
of  it,  thereby  treating  it  with  the  contempt  it  deserved.' 
The  repeated  proofs,  continued  the  Secretary,  'which  the 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  had  given  of  their  reverence  and 
respect  for  the  Constitution,  left  no  doubt  of  their  showing 
a  proper  resentment  of  this  unjustifiable  attempt  to  revive 
those  distractions  which  have  operated  so  fatally  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  kingdom  and  Colonies.'  But,  should  it  be 
otherwise,  and  a  disposition  appear  in  the  Assembly  to  coun 
tenance  this  siditious  paper,  the  Governor  was  further  com 
manded  to  prorogue  and  dissolve  them— a  C9mmand  which 
could  be  executed  by  the  abrogation  of  their  Charter  only. 
Immediately  after  the  letter  had  been  read,  Mr.  Galloway, 
the  speaker,  laid  before  the  house  a  circular  from  the  As 
sembly  of  Virginia,  recapitulating  the  grievances  and  agree 
ments  of  Massachusetts,  and  recommending  a  union  of  the 
Colonies  in  opposition  to  the  measures  having  an  immediate 
tendency  to  enslave  them,  by  which  means  they  anticipated 
the  re-establishment  of  the  Constitution  upon  its  genuine 
principles. 

' '  This  recommendation  wa£  adopted  by  the  Assembly, 
and  a  committee  appointed  to  prepare  petitions  to  the  King, 
and  upper  and  lower  Houses  of  Parliament.  And  that  no 
mistake  might  exist  in  regard  to  their  sentiments  on  the 
letter  of  the  Earl  of  Hillsborough,  they  resolved,  *  That,  by 
their  Charter  and  laws,  they  had  a  right  to  sit  on  their  own 
adjournments ;  and  that  the  Governor  had  no  constitutional 
authority  to  prorogue  or  dissolve  them;  and  that  it  was 
their  undoubted  right  to  correspond  with  the  representatives 
of  the  freemen,  of  any  of  his  Majesty's  Colonies  in  America, 
relative  to  grievances  which  might  affect  the  general  welfare 
of  the  Colonies,  in  order  to  obtain,  by  decent  petitions  to 
his  Majesty  and  his  Parliament,  redress  of  such  grievances." 

The  petitions  to  the  King  and  Parliament,  Mr.  Gordon 
suggests,  were  probably  written  by  Mr.  Allen,  who  was  the 
representative  from  Cumberland,  and  Chief  Justice.  "  Our 
ancestors,"  say  the  petitioners,  in  their  address  to  the  King, 
"near  a  century  past,  with  a  view  of  enjoying  that  liberty, 


198  THE  SIRTff  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

both  civil  and  religious,  of  which  they  were  in  a  great  meas 
ure  deprived  in  their  native  land,  to  extend  the  empire  of 
the  British  dominions,  to  increase  its  commerce,  and  pro 
mote  its  wealth  and  power  before  the  accession  of  your  Ma 
jesty's  illustrious  house  to  the  British  throne,  removed  from 
the  mother-country  to  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  then  a 
wilderness.  The  disadvantages,  dangers,  and  distresses  nec 
essarily  attendant  upon  this  separation  from  their  friends  and 
relatives,  and  the  land  of  their  nativity,  we  trust  must  ap 
pear  to  your  Majesty's  wisdom  too  evident  to  need  a  repe 
tition;  and  yet,  with  inexpressible  labor,  toil,  and  expense, 
and  without  the  least  assistance  from  the  parent-state,  they 
and  their  descendants,  by  their  prudence  and  strict  economy, 
have  peopled,  planted,  and  improved  that  wilderness  into 
an  extensive  and  heretofore  flourishing  Colony,  and  thereby 
greatly  added  to  the  commerce  and  wealth  of  the  nation, 
and  to  the  power  and  dignity  of  your  Majesty's  empire. 

"  While  thus  contributing  to  the  welfare  of  the  mother- 
state,  and  struggling  with  innumerable  difficulties  to  enlarge 
its  dominions,  we  most  humbly  conceive  that  your  Majes 
ty's  faithful  subjects  of  this  Province  have,  by  no  act  what 
ever,  surrendered  up  or  forfeited  those  constitutional  rights 
and  liberties  which  were  inseparably  annexed  to  their  persons 
as  natural-born  subjects  of  the  British  Government;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  that  those  rights,  brought  over  by  our  ances- 
cestors  to  this  land,  are  now  vested  in  their  descendants  as 
an  inheritance  the  most  important  and  valuable,  on  the  en 
joyment  whereof  their  future  safety  and  happiness  depend." 

"  Thus  possessed  of  the  rights  of  Englishmen  derived  to 
them  from  the  most  excellent  Constitution,  and  under  a  firm 
persuasion  that  the  enjoyment  and  full  exercise  thereof 
would  be  continued  down  to  your  people  of  this  Colony,  and 
their  latest  posterity,  it  is  with  inexpressible  concern  and 
anxiety  that  we  find  ourselves  under  the  necessity  of  repre 
senting  to  your  Majesty  that  certain  duties  and  taxes  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  have  been  imposed  by 
Parliament  on  your  Majesty's  American  subjects,  although 
they  have  no  representative  or  voice  in  tha,t  most  respecta 
ble  and  august  body.  That  this  taxation,  we  most  humbly 
apprehend,  is  destructive  of  those  rights  and  that  freedom 
which  they  are  by  birth  entitled  to  as  men  and  Englishmen, 
who  cannot  be  legally  taxed,  either  by  the  principles  of 
equity  or  the  Constitution,  but  by  themselves  or  legal  repre 
sentatives;  and  that,  should  this  law  remain  unrepealed, 
and  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain  exercise  in  future  the 
power  of  granting  the  property  of  your  Majesty's  American 
subjects  without  their  consent,  and  without  having  any 
Constitutional  opportunity  of  being  informed  of  their  true 
circumstances  and  ability  to  bear  such  taxation,  which  their 
situation  and  distance  from  the  mother-country  render  im- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  199 

practicable,  your  faithful  people  of  these  Colonies  will  pos 
sess  nothing  which  they  can  call  their  own — all  security  of 
property  will  be  lost." 

The  modification  of  the  revenue  act  by  the  repeal  of  all 
the  duties  except  that  on  tea  was  far  from  satisfying  the 
Colonies,  since  the  right  to  tax  was  still  asserted.  The  non 
importation  and  non-consumption  agreements  of  the  Colo 
nists  as  to  this  article,  imported  from  Great  Britain,  effec 
tually  nullified  the  act;  and  for  some  years  there  was  a 
cessation  of  political  excitement  on  the  subject,  until  the 
arrival  of  the  East  India  Company's  cargoes  of  tea,  in  the 
latter  part  of  1773,  precipitated  the  conflict. 

But  the  "  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  renewed  their  protest 
against  the  revenue  act,"  says  Gordon,  "  after  its  modifica 
tion,  as  a  precedent  for  future  oppression;  and  they  in 
structed  their  agent,  Dr.  Franklin,  to  oppose  whatever 
might  affect  the  liberties  of  America  or  the  rights  of  the 
Province,  and,  more  especially,  any  plan  which  might  be 
proposed  for  an  American  representation  in  Parliament." 

"The  conduct  of  the  Pennsylvanians  was  prompt,  bold, 
yet  temperate.  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Phila 
delphia,  held  on  the  eighteenth  of  October,  1773,  it  was  re 
solved, — 

"That  the  disposal  of  their  own  property  is  the  inherent 
right  of  freemen;  that  there  can  be  no  property  in  that 
which  another  can  of  right  take  from  us  without  our  con 
sent:  that  the  claim  of  Parliament  to  tax  America  is,  in 
other  words,  a  right  to  levy  contributions  on  us  at  pleasure; 

"  That  the  duty  imposed  by  Parliament  on  tea  landed  in 
America  is  a  tax  on  the  Americans,  or  levying  contribu 
tions  on  them  without  their  consent ; 

"  That  the  express  purpose  for  which  the  tax  is  levied  on 
the  Americans— namely,  for  the  support  of  the  Government, 
administration  of  justice,  and  defence  of  his  Majesty's 
dominions  in  America — has  a  direct  tendency  to  render 
Assemblies  useless,  and  to  introduce  arbitrary  government 
and  slavery; 

* '  That  a  virtuous  and  steady  opposition  to  this  Ministerial 
plan  of  governing  America  is  absolutely  necessary  to  pre 
serve  even  the  shadow  of  liberty,  and  is  a  duty  which 
every  freeman  in  America  owes  to  his  country,  to  himself, 
and  to  posterity ; 

"That  the  resolution  lately  entered  into  by  the  East  India 
Company,  to  send  out  their  tea  to  America,  subject  to  the 
payment  of  duties  on  its  being  landed  here,  is  an  open 
attempt  to  enforce  this  Ministerial  plan  and  a  violent  attack 
on  the  liberties  of  America ; 

"That  it  is  the  duty  of  every  American  to  oppose  this 
attempt ; 

"That  whoever  shall  directly  or  indirectly  countenance 


200  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  HEPUBLIO. 

this  attempt,  or  in  any  wise  aid  or  abet  in  unloading,  re 
ceiving,  or  vending  the  tea  sent  or  to  be  sent  out  by  the 
East  India  Company,  while  it  remains  subject  to  the  pay 
ment  of  a  duty  here,  is  an  enemy  to  his  country ; 

"  That  a  committee  be  immediately  chosen  to  wait  on 
those  gentlemen,  who,  it  is  reported,  are  appointed  by  the 
East  India  Company  to  receive  and  sell  said  tea,  and  re 
quest  them,  from  a  regard  to  their  own  characters  and  the 
peace  and  good  order  of  the  city  and  province,  immediately 
to  resign  their  appointment." 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  Monday,  June  13,  1774. 

"On  Thursday  evening  last,  June  9th,  about  twelve  hun 
dred  mechanics  of  this  city  and  suburbs  assembled  at  the 
State-house  to  hear  a  letter  read  from  the  mechanics  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  to  form  such  resolutions  as  should 
be  "judged  proper  for  ^their  future  conduct  at  this  most 
alarming  and  critical  time  when  American  liberty  is  so 
deeply  wounded,  and  her  rights  so  unjustly  invaded  by 
levying  taxes  on  us,  without  our  consent,  for  the  purpose  of 
raising  a  revenue;  and  for  refusing  payment  of  those  illegal 
taxes;  blocking  up  with  divers  ships  of  war  the  port  and 
town  of  Boston,  thereby  most  unjustly  depriving  that  once 
flourishing  town  of  its  whole  trade,  the  inhabitants  of  their 
private  property,  and  the  laboring  poor  of  the  means  of 
subsisting  themselves  and  families.  These  proceedings  of 
the  parent -state  against  her  American  children  call  aloud 
upon  all  Americans  to  assemble,  consult,  and  determine 
firmly  to  pursue  such  measures  for  their  own  and  neighbors' 
future  security  as  shall  be  judged  most  likely  to  avert  the 
present  calamity,  and  secure  to  them  the  perfect  enjoy 
ment  of  their  Liberties  and  properties  upon  a  fixed  and  last 
ing  foundation;  for  which  purpose  the  mechanics  of  this 
city  did  propose  and  intend  at  this  meeting  to  form  such 
resolutions  to  co-operate  with  the  committee  of  merchants, 
and  to  strengthen  their  hands,  as  will  convince  the  world 
Americans  were  born  and  determined  to  live  free,  and  that 
they  never  will  be  slaves;  that  liberty  is  their  birthright, 
—they  cannot,  they  will  not,  give  it  up." 

Lancaster  (Penn.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Lan 
caster,  at  the  Court-house  in  said  borough,  on  Wednesday 
the  15th  day  of  June,  1774, 

"Agreed,  That,  to  preserve  the  Constitutional  rights  of  the 
inhabitants  of  America,  it  is  incumbent  on  every  Colony  to 
unite,  and  use  the  most  effectual  means  to  procure  a  repeal 
of  the  late  acts  of  Parliament  against  the  town  of  Boston ; 

That  the  act  of  Parliament  for  blocking  up  the  port  and 
harbor  of  Boston  is  an  invasion  of  the  rights  of  the  inhabi- 


TBE  BIRTH  Off  THE  REPUBLIC.  201 

tants  of  the  said  town  as  subjects  of  the  Crown  of  Great 
Britain;  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
meeting  that  the  most  proper  and  effectual  means  to  be 
used  to  obtain  a  repeal  of  the  said  act  will  be  to  put  an 
immediate  stop  to  all  imports  and  exports  to  and  from  Great 
Britain  until  the  same  act  be  repealed;  that  the  traders 
and  inhabitants  of  this  town  will  join  and  concur  with  the 
patriotic  merchants,  manufacturers,  tradesmen,  and  free 
holders  of  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  and  other 
parts  of  the  Province,  in  the  association  of  solemn  agree 
ment  to  this  purpose,  if  it  shall  be  by  them  thought  necessary." 

City  and  County  of  Philadelphia  (Penn.}  Resolutions. 

At  a  yery  large  and  respectable  meeting  of  the  freeholders 
and  freemen  of  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  in  the 
province  of  Pennsylvania,  held  on  Saturday,  June  18,  1774, 

T.  Willing  and  John  Dickinson,  chairmen : 

"Eesolved,  1st.  That  the  act  of  Parliament  for  shutting 
up  the  port  of  Boston  is  unconstitutional,  oppressive  to  the 
inhabitants  of  that  town,  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the 
British  Colonies,  and  that  therefore  we  consider  our  breth 
ren  at  Boston  as  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of  America. 

"2d.  That  a  congress  of  deputies  from  the  several  Colo 
nies  in  North  America  is  the  most  probable  and  proper  mode 
of  procuring  relief  for  our  suffering  brethren,  obtaining  re 
dress  of  American  grievances,  securing  our  rights  and  liber 
ties,  and  re-establishing  peace  and  harmony  between  Great 
Britain  and  these  Colonies  on  a  Constitutional  foundation. 

"  3d.  That  a  large  and  respectable  committee  be  immedi 
ately  appointed  for  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  to 
correspond  with  the  sister-Colonies,  and  with  the  several 
counties  in  this  Province,  in  order  that  all  may  unite  in  pro 
moting  and  endeavoring  to  attain  the  great  and  valuable 
ends  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  resolutions." 

Chester  County  (Penn.)  Resolutions. 

At  a  meeting  of  a  respectable  body  of  the  freeholders, 
inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Chester,  on  Saturday  the  18th 
of  June,  1774,  the  following  .esolutions  were  deliberately 
and  unanimously  agreed  on,  viz. : 

"  1.  That  it  is  an  absolute  right,  inherent  in  every  English 
subject,  to  have  the  free  use,  enjoyment,  and  disoppsal  of  all 
his  property,  either  by  himself  or  his  representatives;  and 
that  no  other  power  on  earth  can  legally  divest  himself 
of  it. 

U2d.  That  we  apprehend  the  act  of  Parliament  for  shut 
ting  up  the  port  of  Boston  (until  his  Majesty's  duties  be  duly 
collected,  etc.)  is  highly  arbitrary  and  oppressive  to  the  in- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

habitants  of  that  town,  and  in  its  consequence  may  en 
danger  the  liberties  of  all  the  British  Colonies  in  America. 

"3d.  That  the  two  bills  mentioned  in  the  last  advices 
from  London  to  be  passing  in  Parliament,  one  changing  the 
chartered  Constitution  ot  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  into  a  military  government,  and  the  other  empowering 
the  Governor  or  Lieutenant-governor  to  send  any  person 
or  persons  to  England  to  be  tried  for  actions  committed  in 
that  Colony,  are  subversive  of  every  idea  of  liberty,  and 
serve  as  a  prelude  to  the  fate  of  each  chartered  British 
Colony  on  this  continent." 

"4th.  That  a  Congress  of  Deputies  from  the  said  Colonies 
is  the  probable  and  proper  mode  of  procuring  relief  for  our 
suffering  brethren,  obtaining  redress,  and  preserving  our 
natural  rights  and  liberties,  and  the  establishing  peace  and 
mutual  confidence  between  the  mother-country  and  her 
Colonies  on  a  Constitutional  foundation." 

Northampton  County  (Pa.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  justices,  the  gentlemen  of  the  bar, 
Grand  Jury,  and  principal  inhabitants  of  the  county  of 
Northampton,  held  at  Easton  on  the  21st  day  of  June,  1774, 

"  George  Taylor,  Esq.,  in  the  chair, 

"It  being  considered  that  it  was  necessary  for  all  the 
counties  of  this  Province  to  join  with  their  brethren  of 
Philadelphia  in  expressing  their  sentiments  upon  the  present 
interesting  occasion  relative  to  the  oppressive  acts  of  Parlia 
ment  lately  passed  in  Great  Britain,  tending  to  destroy  the 
liberties  of  North  America,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  as 
follows : 

"1st.  That  the  act  of  Parliament  for  shutting  up  the 
port  of  Boston  is  an  act  of  the  highest  oppression  and  a  vio 
lation  of  the  liberties  of  America. 

"2d.  That  as  we  consider  the  inhabitants  of  the  said 
town  as  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of  American  free 
dom,  we  will  assist  them  to  obtain  redress  by  every  legal  act 
in  our  power. 

"3d.  That  it  is  our  opinion  the  most  constitutional  and 
effectual  method  for  obtaining  such  redress  is  by  having  a 
general  Congress  of  committees,  to  be  composed  and  chosen 
out  of  the  members  of  the  different  Assemblies  of  each 
Colony." 

Pennsylvania  Convention. 

"At  a  Provincial  Meeting  of  Deputies  chosen  by  the 
several  counties  in  Pennsylvania,  held  at  Philadelphia,  Fri 
day,  July  15,  1774,  and  continued  by  adjournments  from 
day  to  day,  Agreed,  That,  in  case  of  any  difference  in  senti 
ment,  the  question  be  determined  by  the  Deputies  voting  by 
counties.  The  letters  from  Boston  of  the  13th  of  May  were 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  203 

then  read,  and  a  short  account  given  of  the  steps  taken  in 
consequence  thereof,  and  the  measures  now  pursuing  in  this 
and  the  other  neighboring  Provinces.  After  which  the  fol 
lowing  resolves  were  passed : 

"Unanimously,  1,  That  we  acknowledge  ourselves,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  this  Province,  liege  subjects  of  his 
Majesty  King  George  the  Third,  to  whom  they  and  we  owe 
and  will  bear  true  and  faithful  allegiance. 

"  Unanimously,  2,  That,  as  the  idea  of  an  unconstitutional 
independence  on  the  parent-state  is  utterly  abhorrent  to  our 
principles,  we  view  the  unhappy  differences  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  Colonies  with  the  deepest  distress  and  anxiety 
of  mind,  as  fruitless  to  her,  grievous  to  us  and  destructive 
of  the  best  interests  of  both. 

"Unanimously,  3,  That  it  is  therefore  our  ardent  desire 
that  our  ancient  harmony  with  the  mother-country  should 
be  restored,  and  a  perpetual  love  and  union  subsist  between 
us,  on  the  principles  of  the  Constitution,  and  an  interchange 
of  good  offices,  without  the  least  infraction  of  our  mutual 
rights. 

"Unanimously,  4,  That  the  inhabitants  of  these  Colonies 
are  entitled  to  the  same  rights  and  liberties  within  these 
Colonies  that  the  subjects  born  in  England  are  entitled  to 
within  that  realm. 

"Unanimously,  5,  That  the  power  assumed  by  the  Parlia 
ment  of  Great  Britain  to  bind  the  people  of  these  Colonies 
'by  statutes  in  all  cases  whatsoever'  is  unconstitutional, 
and  therefore  the  source  of  these  unhappy  differences. 

"Unanimously,  6,  That  the  act  of  Parliament  for  shutting 
up  the  port  of  Boston  is  unconstitutional,  oppressive  to  the 
inhabitants  of  that  town,  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the 
British  Colonies,  and  therefore  that  we  consider  our  breth 
ren  at  Boston  as  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of  these 
Colonies. 

"Unanimously,  7,  That  the  bill  for  altering  the  adminis 
tration  of  justice  in  certain  criminal  cases  within  the  Pro 
vince  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  if  passed  into  an  act  of  Parlia 
ment,  will  be  as  unconstitutional,  oppressive,  and  dangerous 
as  the  act  above  mentioned. 

"Unanimously,  8,  That  the  bill  for  changing  the  Consti 
tution  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  established  by 
charter  and  enjoyed  since  the  grant  of  that  charter,  if 
passed  into  an  act  of  Parliament,  will  be  unconstitutional 
and  dangerous  in  its  consequence  to  the  American  Colonies. 

"Unanimously,  9,  That  there  is  an  absolute  necessity  that 
a  Congress  of  Deputies  from  the  several  Colonies  be  im 
mediately  assembled,  to  consult  together  and  form  a  general 
plan  of  conduct  to  be  observed  by  all  the  Colonies  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  relief  for  our  suffering  brethren,  ob 
taining  redress  of  our  grievances,  preventing  future  dis- 


204  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

sensions,  firmly  establishing  our  rights  and  restoring  har 
mony  between  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies  on  a  Consti 
tutional  foundation. 

''Unanimously,  10,  That,  although  a  suspension  of  the 
commerce  of  this  large  trading  Province  with  Great  Britain 
would  greatly  distress  multitudes  of  our  industrious  in 
habitants,  yet  that  sacrifice  and  a  much  greater  we  are 
ready  to  offer  for  the  preservation  of  our  liberties ;  but  in 
tenderness  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  as  well  as  of  this 
country,  and  in  hopes  that  our  just  remonstrances  will  at 
length  reach  the  ears  of  our  gracious  sovereign  and  be  no 
longer  treated  with  contempt  by  any  of  our  fellow-subjects 
in  England,  it  is  our  earnest  desire  that  the  Congress  should 
first  try  the  gentler  mode  of  stating  our  grievances  and 
making  a  firm  and  decent  claim  of  redress. 

"11,  Resolved,  by  a  great  majority,  That  yet,  notwith 
standing,  as  an  unanimity  of  counsels  and  measures  is  indis 
pensably  necessary  for  the  common  welfare,  if  Congress 
shall  judge  agreements  of  non-importation  and  non-exporta 
tion  expedient,  the  people  of  this  Province  will  join  with 
the  other  principal  and  neighboring  Colonies  in  such  an 
association  of  non-importation  from  and  non-exportation  to 
Great  Britain  as  shall  be  agreed  at  the  Congress." 

"ASSEMBLY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA,  ) 
July  23,  1774.          ] 

"Ordered,  That  the  resolve  of  the  Committee  of  the  Whole 
be  received  immediately.  Mr.  Rhodes  then  (according  to 
order)  reported  the  said  resolve,  which  he  first  read  in  his 
place,  and  then  delivered  at  the  clerk's  table,  where  the  said 
resolve  was  again  read  by  order,  and  follows  in  these  words, 
viz. :  The  Committee  of  the  Whole  House,  taking  into  their 
most  serious  consideration  the  unfortunate  differences  which 
have  long  subsisted  between  Great  Britain  and  the  American 
Colonies,  and  been  greatly  increased  by  the  operation  and 
effects  of  divers  late  acts  of  the  British  Parliament, — 

"  'Resolved,  N.  C.  D.,  That  there  is  an  absolute  necessity 
that  a  Congress  of  Deputies  from  the  several  Colonies  be 
held,  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be,  to  consult  together 
upon  the  present  unhappy  state  of  the  Colonies,  and  to  form 
and  adopt  a  plan  for  the  purposes  of  obtaining  redress  of 
American  grievances,  ascertaining  American  rights  upon 
the  most  solid  Constitutional  principles,  and  for  establishing 
that  union  and  harmony  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
Colonies  which  is  indispensably  necessary  for  the  welfare 
and  happiness  of  both.' 

"The  House  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  resolve  from 
the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House,  and,  after  some  debate 
thereon,  adopted  and  confirmed  the  same." 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  205 

PENNSYLVANIA  CONVENTION. 

Proceedings  of  the  convention  for  the  Province  of  Penn 
sylvania,  held  at  Philadelphia,  January  23,  1775,  and  con 
tinued  by  adjournments  to  the  28th : 

"  Eesolved  unanimously,  That  this  convention  most  heart 
ily  approve  of  the  conduct  and  proceedings  of  the  Continental 
Congress ;  that  we  will  faithfully  endeavor  to  carry  into  ex 
ecution  the  measures  of  the  association  entered  into  and  re 
commended  by  them ;  and  that  the  members  of  that  very 
respectable  body  merit  our  warmest  thanks  by  their  great 
and  disinterested  labours  for  the  preservation  of  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  the  British  Colonies. 

"  Thursday,  December  8,  1774. 

"  The  members  deputed  in  behalf  of  this  Province  to  at 
tend  the  general  Congress  held  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
in  September  and  October  last,  presented  to  the  chair  a 
printed  journal  of  the  resolutions  and  proceedings  of  the 
said  Congress,  together  with  a  report  in  writing,  which 
latter  was  read  by  order,  and  follows  in  these  words,  viz. : 

"  '  We,  the  committee  appointed  on  the  part  of  this  Prov 
ince  by  the  late  and  present  Houses  of  Representatives  to  at 
tend  the  Congress  of  deputies  from  the  several  Colonies,  beg 
leave  to  report  the  performance  of  that  service  as  contained 
in  a  journal  ofthat  Congress  here  with  delivered,  which  we 
humbly  submit  to  the  consideration  of  the  House : 

" '  EDWARD  BIDDLE, 
CHAS.  HUMPHREYS, 
JOHN  DICKINSON, 
JOHN  MORTON, 
THOMAS  MIFFLIN. 

"PHILADELPHIA  December  8,  1774. 

"  Ordered,  That  the  reading  and  consideration  of  the  jour 
nal  of  the  proceedings  of  the  general  Congress  be  deferred 
till  to-morrow. 

"  Friday,  December  9,  1774. 

"  The  House  proceeded  in  the  consideration  of  the  resolu 
tions  of  the  Congress,  and,  after  some  debate,  ordered  that 
the  further  consideration  thereof  be  deferred  till  to-morrow 
morning. 

"  Saturday,  December  10,  1774. 

"The  House,  agreeable  to  the  order  of  yesterday,  taking 
into  consideration  the  report  of  the  committee  appointed  to 
attend  the  general  Congress,  and  the  papers  therein  referred 
to,— 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  House  approve  the 
proceedings  and  resolves  of  the  Congress,  and  do  most  seri 
ously  recommend  to  the  good  people  of  this  Province  a  strict 
attention  to  and  an  inviolable  observation  of  the  several 


206  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

matters  and  things  contained  in  the  journal  of  the  Congress. 
Upon  motion, 

"Ordered  That  the  foregoing  resolution  he  immediately 
made  public." 

NEWTOWN  (BUCKS  COUNTY),  PA.,  ) 
"  January  16,  1775.  \ 

"  A  large  majority  of  the  committee  chosen  in  said  county 
on  the  15th  of  December  last,  in  pursuance  of  notice  for  that 
purpose  given,  this  day  assembled  in  said  town  and  unani 
mously  chose 

"  Joseph  Hart,  Esq.,  chairman,  and  John  Chapman,  clerk. 

"  The  committee,  then  taking  into  consideration  the  meas 
ures  recommend  by  the  Continental  Congress  for  the  re 
dress  of  American  grievances,  entered  into  the  following  re 
solves  unanimously : 

"  1st.  That  we  highly  approve  of  the  pacific  measures  re 
commended  by  the  Continental  Congress  for  the  redress  of 
American  grievances,  and  do  hereby  render  our  unfeigned 
thanks  to  the  worthy  gentlemen  who  composed  that  august 
assembly,  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  trust  reposed  in 
them. 

"  2d.  That  we  hold  ourselves  bound,  in  justice  to  ourselves, 
our  posterity,  our  King,  and  our  country,  strictly  to  observe 
and  keep  the  association  of  said  Congress,  especially  as  it  is 
recommended  to  us  by  the  united  voice  of  our  representatives 
in  Assembly,  and,  as  a  committee,  will  use  our  utmost  en 
deavors  to  have  it  carried  into  execution. 

4 '  3d.  That  we  hold  it  as  our  bounden  duty,both  as  Christians 
and  as  countrymen,  to  contribute  towards  the  relief  and  sup 
port  of  the  poor  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston  now  suffer 
ing  in  the  general  cause  of  all  the  Colonies ;  and  we  do  hereby 
recommend  the  raising  of  a  sum  of  money  for  that  purpose, 
to  every  inhabitant  or  taxable  in  this  county,  as  soon  as  pos 
sible." 

Chester  County  (Pa.)  Committee. 

March  20,  1775. 

"Pursuant  to  adjournment  and  public  notice  given,  the 
committee  of  Chester  County  met  at  the  house  of  Richard 
Cheyney,  in  East  Coin. 

"On  motion,  ordered,  That  Mr.  Hockley,  Mr.  Johnston, 
Mr.  Grenow,  Mr.  Lloyd,  Mr.  Frazer,  Mr."  Moore,  and  Mr. 
Taylor  be  and  they  are  hereby  appointed  a  committee  to 
essay  a  draft  of  a  petition  to  present  to  the  general  Assem 
bly  of  this  Province,  with  regard  to  the  manumission  of 
slaves;  especially  relating  to  the  freedom  of  infants  here 
after  born  of  black  women  within  this  Colony ;  and  do  make 
report  of  the  .same  to  this  committee  at  their  next  meeting. 

"  On  motion,  ordered,  That  each  member  in  this  commit 
tee  will  use  his  utmost  diligence  in  collecting  the  several 
sums  of  money  subscribed  for  the  use  of  Boston,  and  pay 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  207 

the  same  into  the  hands  of  Anthony  Wayne,  Esq. ,  treasurer, 

at  the  next  meeting  of  this  committee." 

"  '  Committee  of  Yorktown,  York  County,  Iknn.,  to  John  Hancock  and  Thomas 

Gushing; 

"  '  YORKTOWN,  April  13, 1775. 

u  *  HONOURED  FRIENDS  AND  COUNTRYMEN:  Sorry  are  we  to 
hear  that  the  hand  of  oppression  still  bears  hard  on  your 
city,  and  that  the  distresses  of  your  poor  are  not  yet  allevi 
ated.  If  your  misfortunes  and  sufferings  could  be  divided, 
the  inhabitants  of  this  county  would,,  cheerfully  bear  a  part. 
This,  it  seems,  cannot  be  done  ;  your  destined  town  must 
stand  the  shock  alone.  We  want  words  to  express  the  high 
sense  we  have  of  your  conduct  and  virtue ;  few  men  in  the 
world  would  have  opposed  despotism  and  stood  the  torrent 
of  Ministerial  despotism  with  BO  much  steadiness,  intrepidity, 
and  resolution  as  the  inhabitants  of  your  town  and  county 
have  done.  You  have  true  notions  of  liberty.  You  have 
purchased  it.  You  ought  to  enjoy  it.  The  noble  stand 
made  by  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  if  faithfully 
adhered  to,  has  laid  the  foundation  for  establishing  Ameri 
can  liberty  on  the  most  firm  basis.  The  other  Colonies  will 
be  equally  gainers  by  a  favorable  determination  of  the  con 
test,  and  will  not  desert  you  in  the  time  of  danger;  they  will 
doubtless  grant  you  the  most  effectual  assistance. 

"  'This  county,  upon  the  earliest  intelligence  of  your  dis 
tress,  forwarded  subscriptions  for  the  poor  of  Boston.  Grain 
was  generally  subscribed ;  we  expected  to  have  sent  it  last 
fall,  but  could  not  collect  it  at  any  seaport  before  the  winter 
season  came  on ;  so  that  the  shipping  of  it  was  postponed 
till  the  spring.  Upon  the  meeting  of  the  committee  of  this 
county  in  February  last,  shortly  after  the  receipt  of  the  King's 
speech  to  the  Parliament,  it  was  thought  that  it  would  not 
be  safe  to  send  grain.  The  committee  therefore  determined 
to  convert  the  grain  into  cash,  and  remit  the  same  in  specie 
or  bills  of  exchange  to  you.  Your  poor  have  suffered  much 
by  this  resolution,  as  the  price  of  wheat  is  greatly  fallen. 
The  subscriptions  of  but  a  part  of  the  county  have  yet  come 
in.  We  send  you  the  sum  of  £246  8s.  lOd. ,  to  be  remitted  to 
you  in  bills  of  exchange  or  specie,  by  Messrs.  Jonathan  B. 
Smith  and  John  Mitchell,  merchants,  of  Philadelphia,  which 
be  pleased  to  distribute  among  our  poor  and  unhappy  coun 
trymen  in  your  town,  or  in  its  neighborhood,  in  such  man 
ner  as  you  shall  think  proper.  As  there  are  a  few  disaf 
fected  people  in  this  Province,  we  must  trouble  you  to 
publish  the  receipt  of  the  donations  as  is  mentioned  in  the 
inclosed  paper.  Your  friends  here  are  numerous,  and  most 
heartily  interested  themselves  in  your  favor.  As  soon  as 
the  rest  of  the  subscriptions  in  this  county  are  paid,  we 


shall  cheerfully  remit  the  same  to  you. 
**  *  We  wish  you  a  speedy  relief  from  all 


your  sufferings, 


208  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

and  are,  gentlemen,  with   the  greatest  respect,  your  real 
friends  and  most  obedient  humble  servants, 

* ' '  James  Smith,  Pres.  Com. ; 
"  'Geo.  Eichelberger,  Geo.  Fuvin, 

David  Grier,  Jos.  Donaldson, 

Michael  Dowdle,  Michael  Schmyser, 

Michael  Swope,  Balzard  Spangler, 

Peter  Reel,  John  Hay. 

Thomas  Hartley, 

"  *  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  York  County. 
"  '  To  John  Hancock  and  Thomas  Gushing,  Esqrs.,  commit 
tee  for  receiving  and  distributing  the  donations  for  the  poor 
of  Boston.'" 

"PENNSYLVANIA  ASSEMBLY,  j 
May  4,  1775. 

"  The  House  met  pursuant  to  adjournment.  The  commit 
tee  appointed  to  prepare  and  bring  in  a  draft  of  an  answer 
to  the  Governor's  message,  reported  an  essay  for  that  pur 
pose,  which,  being  read  by  paragraphs,  and,  after  some 
alteration,  agreed  to  by  the  House,  was  ordered  to  be  trans 
cribed.  The  answer  of  the  House  to  Governor's  message, 
being  transcribed  according  to  order,  was  again  read,  signed 
by  the  speaker,  and  follows  as  in  these  words,  viz. : 

"  ' May  it  Please  Your  Honour:  "We  have  taken  into  our 
serious  consideration  your  message  of  the  second  instant, 
and  the  resolution  of  the  British  House  of  Commons  therein 
referred  to. 

"'Having  "weighed  and  considered  this  plan  with  the 
temper,  calmness,  and  deliberation  that  the  importance  of 
the  subject  and  the  present  critical  situation  or  affairs  de 
mand,"  we  are  sincerely  sorry  that  we  cannot  "  think  the 
terms  pointed  out  "afford  ua  just  and  reasonable  ground 
for  a  final  accommodation  "  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
Colonies.  Your  Honour  observes  "  that  the  Colonies,  amidst 
all  those  complaints  which  a  jealousy  of  their  liberties  has 
occasioned,  have  never  denied  the  justice  or  equity  of  con 
tributing  towards  the  burdens  of  the  mother-country ;"  but 
your  Honour  must  know  that  they  have  ever  unanimously 
asserted  it  as  their  indisputable  right  that  all  aids  from 
them  should  be  their  own  free  and  voluntary  gifts,  not  taken 
by  force  nor  extorted  by  fear.  Under  which  of  these  de 
scriptions  the  "plan  held  forth  and  offered  by  the  parent  to 
her  children  "  at  this  time,  with  its  attendant  circumstances, 
deserves  to  be  classed,  we  choose  rather  to  submit  to  the 
determination  of  your  Honour's  good  sense,  than  to  attempt 
proving  by  the  enumeration  of  notorious  facts  or  the  rep- 
etion  of  obvious  reasons.  If  no  other  objection  to  "the 
plan  proposed '  occurred  to  us,  we  should  esteem  it  a  dishon 
orable  desertion  of  sister-Colonies,  connected  by  a  union, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  '209 

founded  on  great  motives  and  mutual  faith,  and  conducted 
by  general  councils,  for  a  single  Colony  to  adopt  a  measure 
so  extensive  inconsequence,  without  the  advice  and  consent 
of  those  Colonies  engaged  with  us  by  solemn  ties  in  the 
same  common  cause.' " 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Carlisle  (Cumberland  Co.),  Penn 
sylvania,  dated  May  6,  1775 : 

"Yesterday  the  county  committee  met  from  nineteen 
townships  on  the  short  notice  they  had.  About  three  thou 
sand  men  have  already  associated.  The  arms  returned 
amount  to  about  fifteen  hundred.  The  committee  have 
voted  five  hundred  effective  men,  besides  commissioned 
officers,  to  be  immediately  drafted,  taken  into  pay,  armed, 
and  disciplined,  to  march  on  the  first  emergency ;  to  be  paid 
and  supported  as  long  as  necessary  by  a  tax  on  all  estates, 
real  and  personal,  in  the  county ;  the  returns  to  be  taken 
by  the  township  committees  and  the  tax  laid  by  the  com 
missioners  and  assessors;  the  pay  of  the  officers  and  men 
nearly  as  usual  in  times  past.  This  morning  we  met  again 
at  eight  o'clock ;  among  the  subjects  of  inquiry  this  day,  the 
mode  of  drafting  or  taking  into  pay,  arming,  and  victualling 
immediately,  the  men  and  the  choice  of  "field  and  other 
officers  will,  among  other  important  matters,  be  the  subject 
of  deliberation.  The  strength  of  spirit  of  this  county  may 
perhaps  appear  small  if  judged  of  by  the  number  of  men  pro 
posed  ;  but  when  it  is  considered  that  we  are  ready  to  raise 
fifteen  hundred  cr  two  thousand,  should  we  have  support 
from  the  Province,  and  that,  independent  and  in  uncertain 
expectation  of  such  support,  we  have  voluntarily  drawn 
upon  this  county  a  debt  of  about  twenty  seven  thousand 
pounds  per  annum,  I  hope  we  shall  not  appear  contempti 
ble.  We  make  great  improvement  in  military  discipline ; 
it  is  yet  uncertain  who  may  go." 

Bucks  County  (Pa.)  Committee. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  of  the  county  of  Bucks, 
held  at  the  house  of  Richard  Leedom,  May  the  8,  1775, — 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  we  do  heartily  approve  of 
the  resolves  of  the  late  Provincial  convention  held  at  Phila 
delphia  the  23d  day  of  January  last,  and  do  earnestly  re 
commend  it  to  the  observation  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
county. 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  notwithstanding  the  dis 
approbation  we  have  hitherto  shown  to  the  prosecution  of 
any  violent  measures  of  opposition  arising  from  the  hopes 
and  expectations  that  the  humanity,  justice,  and  magna 
nimity  of  the  British  nation  would  not  fail  of  affording  us 
relief;  being  now  convinced  that  all  our  most  dutiful  appli 
cations  have  hitherto  been  fruitless  and  vain,  and  that'at- 


210  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

tempts  are  now  making  to  carry  the  oppressive  acts  of  Par 
liament  into  execution  by  military  force,  we  do  therefore 
earnestly  recommend  to  the  peoply  of  this  county  to  form 
themselves  into  associations  in  their  respective  townships, 
to  improve  themselves  in  the  military  art,  that  they  may 
be  rendered  capable  of  affording  their  country  that  aid 
which  its  particular  necessities  may  at  any  time  require. 

"Joseph  Hart,  John  Kidd,  Joseph  Kirkbride,  James  Wal 
lace,  and  Henry  Wynkoop,  or  any  three  of  them,  are  ap 
pointed  as  delegates  to  meet  in  Provincial  convention,  if 
any  should  be  found  necessary. 

"The  committee  request  all  persons  who  have  taken  sub 
scriptions  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  Boston  as  soon  as  pos 
sible  to  collect  and  pay  the  same  into  the  hands  of  the  treas 
urer,  Henry  Wynkoop,  that  it  may  be  speedily  applied 
towards  the  benevolent  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended; 
and  at  the  same  time  to  give  those  who  have  not  subscribed 
an  opportunity  to  contribute  also. 

' { By  order  of  the  committee. 

"HENRY  WYNKOOP,  Clerk. 

Chester  County  (Pa.)  Committee. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  for  the  county  of  Ches 
ter,  at  the  borough  of  Chester,  May  15,  1775, 

"  Anthony  Wayne,  Esq.,  in  the  chair,  the  following  re 
solves  were  made,  viz. : 

"Whereas,  The  British  Parliament,  instead  of  hearing  pur 
just  complaints  or  showing  the  least  regard  to  the  dutiful 
and  lawful  petition  of  the  late  Continental  Congress  on  be 
half  of  America,  have  proceeded  to  fresh  acts  of  tyranny  and 
oppression,  which,  added  to  an  address  of  both  Lords  and 
Commons  to  his  Majesty,  declaring  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  to  be  in  a  state  of  open  re 
bellion,  and  several  of  the  other  Colonies  encouragers  of  the 
same,  have  induced  the  soldiery  under  the  command  of 
General  Gage,  at  Boston,  to  commence  a  civil  war  by  wan 
tonly  firing  upon  and  murdering  a  number  of  the  inhabi 
tants  of  that  Province:  And  whereas,  The  said  address  mili 
tates  equally  against  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  Colonies 
who  have  the  virtue  to  refuse  obedience  to  laws  and  meas 
ures  destructive  to  the  best  rights  and  liberties  of  America, 
which,  if  suffered  to  take  effect,  must  inevitably  reduce  these 
Colonies  to  a  state  of  abject  slavery,  from  which  in  all  prob 
ability  no  human  efforts  would  ever  be  able  to  rescue  them ; 
and  although  we  will  not  yield  to  any  of  our  fellow-subjects  in 
point  of  duty  and  loyalty  to  our  most  gracious  sovereign,  yet 
we  cannot  be  so  far  negligent  of  our  own  happiness  as  totally 
to  neglect  providing  for  our  common  safety :  Therefore,— 

"  Resolved  unanimously,  1st,  That  it  is  the  indispens 
able  duty  of  all  the  freemen  of  this  county  immediately 


THE  BIHTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  211 

to  form  and  enter  into  associations  for  the  purpose  of 
learning  the  military  art ;  and  that  they  provide  themselves 
with  proper  arms  and  ammunition  to  be  ready  in  case  of 
emergency  to  defend  our  liberty,  property,  and  lives  against 
all  attempts  to  deprive  us  of  them.  And  we  solemiily  en 
gage  to  promote  such  associations  to  the  utmost  of  our 
power. 

"  2d,  Eesolved,  nem.  con.,  That  no  powder  be  expended  in 
this  county  except  on  emergent  occasions,  and  the  store- 
and  shop-keepers  are  requested  not  to  dispose  of  any  except 
to  some  one  or  more  of  this  committee,  who  are  ordered  to 
purchase  the  same. 

4 '3d,  Resolved,  nem.  con.,  That  this  committee,  confiding 
in  the  wisdom  and  virtue  of  the  Continental  Congress  now 
sitting  in  Philadelphia,  will  adopt  and  use  their  utmost 
endeavors  to  carry  into  execution  all  such  measures  as  the 
said  Congress  shall  recommend  for  the  preservation  of 
American  liberty. 

1 ' '  4th.  Resolved,  nem.  con. ,  It  is  earnestly  recommended, 
to  every  subscriber  in  this  county  for  the  relief  of  the  poor 
in  Boston,  that  they  immediately  pay  the  same,  as  it  is  much 
wanted  for  the  benevolent  purposes  intended. 

"  '5th.  Resolved,  nem.  con.,  That  each  member  of  this  com 
mittee  will  give  his  attendance  at  the  borough  of  Chester, 
on  the  the  31st  of  this  instant,  at  ten  o'clock  A.M.,  in  order 
to  consult  the  justices,  Grand  Jury,  and  Board  of  Commis 
sioners  and  Assessors  on  ways  and  means  to  procure  a  proper 
quantity  of  arms  and  ammunition  for  the  use  of  this  county.' 

"  The  committee  then  adjourned  to  the  time  and  place 
above  mentioned.  By  order  of  the  committee. 

"  FRANCIS  JOHNSTON, 

•'Secretary." 

Meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland  County,  Pa. 

"  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  county  of 
Westmoreland,  held  at  Hanna's  Town,  the  16th  day  of  May, 
1775,  for  taking  into  consideration  the  very  alarming  situa 
tion  of  this  county  occasioned  by  the  dispute  with  Great 
Britain,— 

* '  Resolved  unanimously, That  the  Parliament  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  by  several  late  acts,  have  declared  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  to  be  in  rebellion,  and  the  Ministry,  by 
endeavoring  to  enforce  these  acts,  have  attempted  to  reduce 
the  said  inhabitants  to  a  more  wretched  state  of  slavery 
than  ever  before  existed  in  any  state  or  country.  Not  con 
tent  with  violating  their  Constitutional  and  Chartered  privi 
leges,  they  would  strip  them  of  the  rights  of  humanity,  ex 
posing  lives  to  the  wanton  and  unpunishable  sport  of  a 
licentious  soldiery,  and  depriving  them  of  the  very  means  of 
subsistence. 


212  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
but  the  same  system  of  tyranny  and  oppression  will  (should 
it  meet  with  success  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay)  be  extended 
to  every  other  part  of  America;  it  is  therefore  become  the 
indispensable  duty  of  every  American,  of  every  man  who 
has  any  public  virtue  or  love  for  his  country,  or  any  bowels 
for  posterity,  by  every  means  which  God  has  put  in  his 
power,  to  resist  and  oppose  the  execution  of  it :  that  for  us 
we  will  be  ready  to  oppose  it  with  our  lives  and  fortunes. 
And  the  better  to  enable  us  to  accomplish  it,  we  will  imme 
diately  form  ourselves  into  a  military  body  to  consist  of  com 
panies  to  be  made  up  out  of  the  several  townships  under  the 
following  association,  which  is  declared  to  be  the  Association 
of  Westmoreland  County : 

4  'Possessed  with  unshaken  loyalty  and  fidelity  to  his  Majes 
ty,  King  George  the  Third,  whom  we  acknowledge  to  be  our 
lawful  and  rightful  King,  and  who  we  wish  may  long  be 
the  beloved  sovereign  of  a  free  and  happy  people  through 
out  the  whole  British  Empire ;  we  declare  to  the  world  that 
we^do  not  mean,  by  this  association,  to  deviate  from  that  loy 
alty  which  we  hold  it  our  bounden  duty  to  observe;  but 
animated  with  the  love  of  liberty,  it  is  no  less  than  duty  to 
maintain  and  defend  our  just  rights  (which  with  sorrow  we 
have  seen  of  late  wantonly  violated  in  many  instances  by  a 
wicked  Ministry  and  a  corrupted  Parliament),  and  transmit 
them  entire  to  our  posterity,  for  which  purpose  we  do  agree 
and  associate  together,— 

"1st.  To  arm  and  form  ourselves  into  a  regiment  or  regi 
ments,  and  choose  officers  to  command  us  in  such  propor 
tion  as  shall  be  thought  necessary,' "  etc. 

"  PENNSYLVANIA  ASSEMBLY,  ) 
Friday,  June  23,  1775.      f 

"The  bill  entitled  'An  Act  for  the  Support  of  the  Govern 
ment  of  this  Province  and  the  Payment  of  the  Public  Debt ' 
being  read  the  second  time  and  debated  by  paragraphs,  was 
ordered  to  be  transcribed  for  a  third  reading. 

u A  petition  and  memorial  from  the  Committee  of  the  City 
and  Liberties  of  Philadelphia  was  presented  to  the  House  and 
read,  setting  forth  that  the  petitioners,  reflecting  upon  the 
great  and  imminent  danger  to  which  the  liberties  of  America 
are  exposed  by  the  open  and  declared  determination  of  the 
British  Ministry  to  enforce  certain  cruel  and  oppressive  acts 
of  Parliament;  and  contemplating  those  mournful  events 
which  have  already  happened,  as  well  as  those  which  may 
happen  during  this  important  struggle, — have  been  induced 
to  form  and  recommend  a  military  association  within  this 
city  and  liberties;  that,  in  forming  such  association,  they 
have  extended  their  views  beyond  a  mere  parade  and  useless 
show ;  and  animated  with  a  lively  sense  of  the  inestimable 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  213 


have 
efend 


value  of  the  blessings  of  civil  liberty  themselves,  they 
endeavored  to  inculcate  upon  others  the  necessity  of  d 
ing  and  supporting  them  by  actual  service,  if  the  exigency 
of  public  affairs  should  require  it  :  that  under  these  circima- 
stances  they  find  various  difficulties  which  require  the  aid 
and  assistance  of  the  honorable  House. 

"Reposing  therefore  the  fullest  confidence  in  the  virtue  and 
spirit  of  their  Representatives,  they  beg  leave  to  lay  before 
them  several  particulars  which  seem,  in  a  peculiar  manner, 
to  claim,  their  attention  and  regard. 

"Friday,  June  30,  1775. 

"  The  House  met  pursuant  to  adjournment  and  proceeded 
in  the  consideration  of  the  resolves  of  the  committees,  which, 
being  j)ut  to  the  question,  were  agreed  to  by  the  House,  and 
follow  in  these  words,  viz  : 

"  '  1.  Resolved,  That  this  House  approve  the  association  en 
tered  into  by  the  good  people  of  this  Province  for  the  de 
fence  of  their  lives,  liberty,  and  property. 

"  '  2.  Resolved,  That  if  any  invasion  or.  landing  of  British 
troops  or  others  shall  be  made  in  this  or  the  adjacent 
Colonies  during  the  present  controversy,  or  any  armed  ships 
or  vessels  shall  sail  up  the  river  Delaware  in  a  hostile  man 
ner,  and  such  circumstances  shall  render  it  expedient,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  committee  hereafter  to  be  appointed,  for 
any  number  of  the  officers  and  privates,  men  of  the  associa 
tion,  within  this  Colony  to  enter  into  actual  service  for  re 
pelling  such  hostile  attempts,  this  House  will  provide  for 
the  pay  and  necessary  expenses  of  such  officers  and  soldiers 
performing  such  military  duty  while  they  are  in  such  actual 
service.'  " 

Dr.  Franklin  to  Dr.  Jos.  Priestly  : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  Octobers,  1775. 

"DEAR  SIR:  I  am  to  set  out  to-morrow  for  the  camp,  and 
having  but  just  heard  of  this  opportunity,  can  onlv  write  a 
line  to  say  that  I  am  well  and  hearty.  Tell  our  dear  good 
friend  Dr.  Price,  who  sometimes  has  his  doubts  and  despon 
dences  about  our  firmness,  that  America  is  determined  and 
unanimous,  a  very  few  Tories  and  Placemen  excepted,  who 
will  probably  very  soon  export  themselves. 

"Britain,  at  the  expense  of  three  millions,  has  killed  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Yankees  this  campaign,  which  is  twenty 
thousand  pounds  a  head  ;  and  at  Bunker's  Hill,  she  gained 
a  mile  of  ground,  half  of  which  she  lost  again  by  our  taking 
Post  on  Ploughed  Hill.  During  the  same  time  sixty  thou 
sand  children  have  been  born  in  America.  From  these  data 
his  mathematical  head  will  easily  calculate  the  time  and  ex- 


214  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

pense  necessary  to  kill  us  all  and  conquer  our  whole  terri 
tory.     My  sincere  respects  to and  to  the  club  of 

honest  Whigs  at.  ...    Adieu. 

"I  am  ever  yours  most  affectionately, 

"B.  FRANKLIN." 

Dr.  Franklin  to  David  Hartley,  London : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  October  3,  1T75. 

"SiR:  I  wish  as  ardently  as  you  can  do  for  peace,  and 
should  rejoice  exceedingly  in  co-operating  with  you  to  that 
end.  But  every  ship  from  Britain  brings  some  intelligence 
of  new  measures  that  tend  more  and  more  to  exasperate ; 
and  it  seems  to  me  that,  until  you  have  found  by  dear  expe 
rience  the  reducing  us  by  force  impracticable,  you  will 
think  of  nothing  fair  and  reasonable.  We  have  as  yet 
resolved  only  on  defensive  measures.  If  you  would  recall 
your  forces  and  stay  at  home,  we  should  meditate  nothing 
to  injure  you.  A  little  time  so  given  for  cooling  on  both 
sides  would  have  excellent  effects.  But  you  will  goad  and 
provoke  us.  You  despise  us  too  much;  and  you  are  insensi 
ble  of  the  Italian  adage  that  *  There  is  no  little  enemy.' 

"  I  am  persuaded  the  body  of  the  British  people  are  our 
friends ;  but  they  are  changeable,  and,  by  your  lying  gazettes, 
may  soon  be  made  our  enemies.  Our  respect  for  them  will 
proportionally  diminish ;  and  I  see  clearly  we  are  on  the 
high  road  to  mutual  enmity,  hatred,  and  detestation.  A 
separation  will  of  course  be  inevitable.  It  is  a  million  of 

Eities,  so  fair  a  plan  as  we  have  hitherto  been  engaged  in, 
)r  increasing  strength  and  empire  with  public  fidelity, 
should  be  destroyed  by  the  mangling  hands  of  the  few 
blundering  Ministers.  It  will  not  be  destroyed;  God  will 
protect  and  prosper  it;  you  will  only  exclude  yourselves 
from  any  share  in  it.  We  hear  that  more  troops  and  ships 
are  coming  out.  We  know  you  may  do  us  a  great  deal  of 
mischief,  but  we  are  determined  to  bear  it  patiently  as  long 
as  we  can.  But  if  you  flatter  yourselves  with  beating  us 
into  submission,  you  know  neither  the  people  nor  the  coun 
try.  The  Congress  is  still  sitting,  and  will  wait  the  result  of 
their  last  petition." 

Doctor  Franklin  to  M.  Dumas: 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  December  19,  1775. 

1  'We  are  threatened  from  England  with  a  very  powerful 
force,  to  come  next  year  against  us.  We  are  making  all  the 
provisions  in  our  power  here  to  prevent  that  force,  and  we 
nope  we  shall  be  able  to  defend  ourselves.  But  as  the  events 
of  war  are  always  uncertain,  possibly,  after  another  cam 
paign,  we  may  find  it  necessary  to  ask  aid  of  some  foreign 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  215 

power.  It  gives  us  great  pleasure  to  learn  from  you  that 
*  all  Europe  wishes  us  the  best  success  in  the  maintenance 
of  our  liberty.'  But  we  wish  to  know  whether  any  one  of 
them,  from  principles  of  humanity,  is  disposed  magnani 
mously  to  step  in  for  the  relief  of  an  oppressed  people;  or 
whether  if,  as  it  seems  likely  to  happen,  we  should  be 
obliged  to  break  off  all  connection  with  Britain  and  declare 
ourselves  an  independent  people,  there  is  any  state  or  power 
in  Europe  who  would  be  willing  to  enter  into  an  alliance 
with  us  for  the  benefit  of  our  commerce,  which  amounted 
before  the  war  to  near  seven  millions  sterling  per  annum, 
and  must  continually  increase,  as  our  people  increase  most 
rapidly.  Confiding,  my  dear  friend,  in  your  good-will  to 
us  and  our  cause,  and  in  your  sagacity  and  abilities  for 
business,  the  committee  of  Congress  appointed  for  the  pur 
pose  of  establishing  and  conducting  a  correspondence  with 
our  friends  in  Europe,  of  which  committee  I  have  the  honor 
to  be  a  member,  have  directed  me  to  request  of  you  that,  as 
you  are  situated  at  The  Hague,  where  ambassadors  from  all 
the  courts  reside,  you  would  make  use  of  the  opportunity 
which  that  situation  affords  you  of  discovering,  if  possible, 
the  disposition  of  the  several  courts  with  respect  to  such  as 
sistance  or  alliance,  if  we  should  apply  for  the  one  or  pro 
pose  for  the  other.  As  it  may  possibly  be  necessary,  in 
particular  instances,  that  you  should,  for  this  purpose,  con 
fer  directly  with  some  great  Ministers,  and  show  them  this 
letter  as  your  credential,  we  only  recommend  it  to  your 
discretion  that  you  proceed  therein  with  such  caution  as  to 
keep  the  same  from  the  knowledge  of  the  English  ambassa 
dor,  and  prevent  any  public  appearance,  at  present,  of  your 
being  employed  in  such  business,  as  thereby  we  imagine 
many  inconveniences  may  be  avoided  and  your  means  of 
rendering  us  service  increased." 

11  Common-sense." 

From  Thomas  Paine's  "Common-sense,"  published  in 
Philadelphia : 

"  'Tis  repugnant  to  reason,  to  the  universal  order  of 
things,  to  all  examples  from  former  ages,  to  suppose  that 
this  continent  can  long  remain  subject  to  any  external 
power.  The  most  sanguine  in  Britain  doth  not  think  so. 
The  utmost  stretch  of  human  wisdom  cannot  at  this  time 
compass  a  plan,  short  of  separation,  which  can  promise 
the  continent  even  a  year's  security.  Reconciliation  is  now 
a  fallacious  dream.  Nature  hath  deserted  the  connection, 
and  Art  cannot  supply  her  place ;  for  as  Milton  wisely  ex 
presses  '  Never  can  true  reconcilement  grow  where  wounds 
of  deadly  hate  have  pierced  so  deep.' " 


216  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Instructions  of  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  to  their  Dele 
gates  in  Congress. 

"  IN  ASSEMBLY,  June  8,  1776. 

"GENTLEMEN:  When  by  our  instructions  of  last  Novem 
ber  we  strictly  enjoined  you  in  behalf  of  this  Colony  to  dis 
sent  from  and  utterly  reject  any  proposition,  should  such 
be  made,  that  might  cause  or  lead  to  a  separation  from 
Great  Britain  or  a  change  of  the  form  of  this  government, 
our  restrictions  did  not  arise  from  any  diffidence  of  your 
ability,  prudence,  or  integrity,  but  from  an  earnest  desire  to 
serve  the  good  people  of  Pennsylvania  with  fidelity  in  times 
so  full  of  alarming  dangers  and  perplexing  difficulties.  The 
situation  of  public  affairs  is  since  so  greatly  altered  that  we 
now  think  ourselves  justifiable  in  removing*  the  restrictions 
laid  upon  you  by  those  instructions.  The  contempt  with 
which  the  last  petition  of  the  honorable  Congress  has  been 
treated;  the  late  act  of  Parliament  declaring  the  just  resist 
ance  of  the  Colonists  against  violances  actually  offered  to  be 
rebellion,  excluding  them  from  the  protection  of  the  Crown, 
and  even  compelling  some  of  them  to  bear  arms  against  their 
countrymen ;  the  treaties  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain  with 
other  princes  for  engaging  foreign  mercenaries  to  aid  the 
forces  of  that  kingdom  in  their  hostile  enterprises  against 
America;  and  his  answer  to  the  petition  of  the  Lord  Mayor, 
Aldermen,  and  Commons  of  the  city  of  London, — manifest 
such  a  determined  and  implacable  resolution  to  effect  the 
utter  destruction  of  these  Colonies  that  all  hopes  of  recon 
ciliation  on  reasonable  terms  are  extinguished. 

"Nevertheless,  it  is  our  ardent  desire  that  a  civil  war, 
with  all  its  attending  miseries,  could  be  ended  by  a  secure 
and  honorable  peace. 

"  We  therefore  hereby  authorize  you  to  concur  with  the 
other  Delegates  in  Congress  in  forming  such  further  com 
pacts  between  the  United  Colonies,  concluding  such  treaties 
with  foreign  kingdoms  and  states,  and  in  adopting  such 
other  measures  as  shall  be  judged  necessary  for  promoting 
the  liberty,  safety,  and  interests  of  America;  reserving  to 
the  people  of  this  Colony  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  of 
regulating  the  internal  government  and  police  of  the  same. 
The  happiness  of  these  Colonies  has,  during  the  whole  course 
of  this  fatal  controversy,  been  our  first  wish ;  their  recon 
ciliation  with  Great  Britain  our  next.  Ardently  have  we 
prayed  for  the  accomplishment  of  both.  But  if  we  must 
renounce  the  one  or  the  other,  we  humbly  trust  in  the  mer 
cies  of  the  Supreme  Governor  of  the  Universe,  that  we  shall 
not  stand  condemned  bsfore  his  throne  if  our  choice  is 
determined  by  that  overruling  law  of  self -preservation 
which  his  divine  wisdom  has  thought  fit  to  implant  in  the 
Jiearts  of  his  creatures." 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  217 

Provincial  Conference  of  Pennsylvania  Instructs  Delegates 
to  Vote  for  Independence. 

"June  24,  1776,  P.M. 

""The  Conference  met. 

"  The  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose  brought  in  a 
draft  of  a  declaration  011  the  subject  of  the  independence,  of 
this  Colony,  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  which  was  ordered 
to  be  read  \>y  special  order.  The  same  was  read  a  second 
time,  and,  being  fully  considered,  it  was,  with  the  greatest 
unanimity  of  all  the  members,  agreed  to  and  adopted,  and 
is  in  the  following  words,  viz. : 

"'Whereas,  George  the  Third,  King  of  Great  Britain, 
etc.,  in  violation  of  the  principles  of  the  British  Constitu 
tion  and  of  the  laws  of  justice  and  humanity,  hath,  by  an 
accumulation  of  oppressions  unparalleled  in  history,  ex 
cluded  the  inhabitants  of  this  with  the  other  American 
Colonies,  from  his  protection ;  and  whereas  he  hath  paid  no 
regard  to  any  of  our  numerous  and  dutiful  petitions  for  a 
redress  of  our  complicated  grievances,  but  hath  lately  pur 
chased  foreign  troops  to  assist  in  enslaving  us,  and  hath  ex 
cited  the  savages  of  this  country  to  carry  on  a  war  against 
us,  as  also  the  negroes  to  imbrue  their  hands  in  the  blood  of 
their  masters  in  a  manner  unpractised  by  civilized  nations ; 
and  hath  lately  insulted  our  calamities  by  declaring  that  he 
will  show  us  no  mercy  until  he  has  reduced  us ;  and  whereas, 
the  obligations  of  allegiance  and  protection  (being  reciprocal 
between  a  King  and  his  subjects)  are  now  dissolved,  on  the 
side  of  the  Colonists,  by  the  despotism  of  the  said  King,  in 
somuch  that  it  now  appears  that  loyalty  to  him  is  treason 
against  the  good  people  of  this  country ;  and  whereas,  not 
only  the  Parliament,  but,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  too  many 
of  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  have  concurred  in  the  afore 
said  arbitrary  and  unjust  proceedings  against  us;  and 
whereas,  the  public  virtue  of  this  Colony  (so  essential  to  its 
liberty  and  happiness)  must  be  endangered  by  a  future 
political  union  with  or  dependence  upon  a  crown  and  nation 
so  lost  to  justice,  patriotism,  and  magnanimity ;— we,  the 
deputies  of  the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  assembled  in  full 
Provincial  Conference  for  forming  a  plan  for  executing  the 
resolve  of  Congress  of  the  15th  of  May  last  for  suppressing 
all  authority  in  this  Province  derived  from  Great  Britain, 
and  for  establishing  a  government  upon  the  authority  of  the 
people  only,  now,  in  this  public  manner,  in  behalf  of  ourselves, 
and  with  the  approbation,  consent,  and  authority  of  our  con 
stituents,  unanimously  declare  our  willingness  to  concur  in  a 
vote  of  the  Congress  declaring  the  United  Colonies  free  and 
independent  States,  provided  the  forming  of  the  govern 
ment  and  the  regulation  of  the  internal  police  of  this  Colony 
be  always  reserved  to  the  people  of  the  said  Colony.  And  we 
do,  further,  call  upon  the  nations  of  Europe,  and  appeal  to 


218  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

the  Great  Arbiter  and  Governor  of  the  empires  of  the  world, 
to  witness  for  us  that  this  declaration  did  not  originate  in 
ambition  or  in  an  impatience  of  lawful  authority,  but  that 
we  were  driven  to  it,  in  obedience  to  the  first  principles  of 
nature,  by  the  oppressions  and  cruelties  of  the  aforesaid 
King  and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  as  the  only  possible 
measure  that  was  left  us  to  preserve  and  establish  our  liber 
ties,  and  to  transmit  them  inviolate  to  posterity.' 

"  Ordered,  That  the  Declaration  be  signed  at  the  table  and 
that  the  president  deliver  it  to  Congress." 

NEW  JERSEY. 

The  first  action  taken  by  New  Jersey  in  opposition  to  the 
new  taxes  imposed  by  Parliament  in  June,  1767,  on  tea  and 
other  articles,  was  in  response  to  a  circular  sent  out  by  the 
ever-watchful  Massachusetts  Assembly.  "  This  circular," 
says  Mulford,  "  was  laid  before  the  Assembly  of  New  Jersey 
by  the  speaker,  on  the  15th  April,  1768 ;  and  on  the  following 
day  it  was  referred  to  a  committee  to  prepare  and  bring  in 
an  answer.  A  suitable  reply  was  accordingly  prepared  and 
was  transmitted  to  the  Massachusetts  Assembly.  Soon  after, 
the  House  resolved  that  a  dutiful  and  loyal  address  should 
be  presented  to  his  Majesty,  humbly  beseeching  him  to  con 
sider  the  distressed  condition  of  the  Colonies.  On  the  7th 
May  the  address  was  agreed  to."  This  address  sets  forth 
that  "  The  subjects  thus  emigrating,  brought  with  them,  as 
inherent  in  their  persons,  all  the  rights  and  liberties  of  nat 
ural-born  subjects  within  the  parent  state;  in  consequence 
of  these,  a  government  was  formed,  under  which  they  have 
been  constantly  exercised  and  enjoyed  by  the  inhabitants,  and 
repeatedly  and  solemnly  recognized  and  confirmed  by  your 
royal  predecessors  and  the  legislature  of  Great  Britain.  One 
of  these  rights  and  liberties  vested  in  the  people  of  this  Col 
ony  is  the  privilege  of  being  exempt  from  any  taxation  but 
such  as  is  imposed  on  them  by  themselves  or  by  their  repre 
sentatives.  And  this  they  esteem  so  invaluable  that  they 
are  fully  persuaded  no  other  can  exist  without  it.  Your 
Majesty's  signal  distinction  is  that  you  reign  over  freemen, 
and  your  peculiar  glory  that  you  reign  in  such  a  manner 
that  your  subjects,  the  disposers  of  their  own  property,  are 
ready  and  willing,  whenever  your  service  calls  upon  them, 
with  their  lives  and  fortunes  to  assist  your  cause.  .  .  .  With 
such  sentiments,  your  people  observe,  with  the  greatest 
anxiety  and  concern,  that  duties  have  been  lately  imposed 
on  them  by  Parliament,  for  the  sole  and  express  purpose  of 
raising  a  revenue.  This  is  a  taxation  upon  them  from  which 
they  conceive  they  ought  to  be  protected  by  the  acknowl 
edged  principles  of  the  Constitution — that  freemen  cannot  be 
taxed  but  by  themselves  or  by  their  representatives;  and 
that  they  are  represented  in  Parliament,  they  not  only  can- 


BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

not  allow,  but  are  convinced  that,  from  their  local  circum 
stances,  they  never  can  be." 

The  act  of  Parliament  for  sending  criminals  from  the  Col 
onies  to  England  to  be  tried,  awakened  a  spirit  of  universal 
alarm  and  opposition.  The  Assembly  of  New  Jersey,  De 
cember,  1769  (in  accordance  with  the  previous  action  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses  in  Virginia),  passed  a  resolution  "  That 
all  trials  for  treason,  or  any  felony  or  crime  whatever,  com 
mitted  by  any  person  residing  in  the  Colony:  ought  to  be  in 
and  before  his  Majesty's  courts  in  the  Colony;  and  that  the 
seizing  any  person  residing  in  the  Colony,  suspected  of  any 
crime  committed  there,  and  sending  such  person  to  places 
beyond  the  seas  to  be  tried,  is  highly  derogatory  of  the  rights 
of  British  subjects;  as  thereby  the  inestimable  privilege  of  a 
trial  by  jury  of  the  vicinage,  as  well  as  the  liberty  of  pro 
ducing  witnesses  in  such  trial,  will  be  taken  away." 

The  Colonies  resorted  to  non-importation  agreements. 
"  New  Jersey,"  says  Mulford,  "  from  her  limited  trade,  was 
unable  to  give  decisive  support  to  measures  of  this  descrip 
tion  by  direct  co-operation ;  but  her  cordial  approval  was  ex 
pressed.  In  October,  1769,  the  General  Assembly  resolved,  by 
an  unanimous  vote,  that  the  thanks  of  the  House  be  given  to 
the  merchants  and  traders  of  this  Colony,  and  of  the  Colo 
nies  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  for  their  disinterested 
and  public-spirited  conduct  in  withholding  their  importations 
of  British  merchandise  until  certain  acts  of  Parliament  laying 
restrictions  on  American  commerce, for  the  express  purpose  of 
raising  a  revenue  in  America,  be  repealed."  Meetings  of  the 
people  were  also  held,  where  similar  views  were  expressed, 
and  the  violations  of  the  non-importation  agreements,  which 
had  occurred  at  different  places,  were  severely  condemned. 

The  repeal  of  the  Revenue  Act  of  1767  took  place  on  the 
12th  of  April,  1770.  But  the  reservation  of  the  tax  on  tea, 
for  the  avowed  purpose  of  continuing  to  assert  the  right  of 
Parliamentary  taxation,  marred  the  effect  of  the  concession. 
The  people  of  the  Colonies  were  far  from  being  satisfied,  and 
continued  their  policy  of  non-importation  as  to  that  article, 
and  their  other  measures  of  protest  and  opposition.  This 
tax  on  tea,  with  other  irritating  measures,  affecting  particu 
larly  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and  Connecticut,  kept  the 
whole  continent  in  a  state  of  continued  irritation  and  excite 
ment. 

"  On  the  8th  of  February,  1774,  the  Assembly  of  New  Jer 
sey  resolved  that  a  '  Committee  of  Correspondence  and  In 
quiry  be  appointed  to  obtain  the  most  early  and  authentic 
intelligence  of  all  acts  and  resolutions  of  the  British  Parlia 
ment,  or  the  proceedings  of  administration,  that  may  have 
any  relation  to  or  may  affect  the  liberties  and  privileges  of 
his  Majesty's  subjects  in  the  British  Colonies  in  America, 
and  to  Keep  up  and  maintain  a  correspondence  with  our  sis- 


220  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

ter-Colonies  respecting  these  important  considerations;  and 
that  they  occasionally  lay  their  proceedings  before  the 
House.'  It  was  also  agreed  that  the  resolution  of  the  House 
should  be  transmitted  to  the  Assemblies  of  the  several  Col 
onies,  and  that  thanks  should  be  returned  to  the  Assembly 
of  Virginia  for  their  early  attention  to  the  liberties  of 
America." 

Lower  Freehold  (N.  J".)  Resolutions. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the 
township  of  Lower  Freehold,  in  the  county  of  Moninouth,  in 
New  Jersey,  on  Monday,  the  6th  day  of  June,  1774,  after  no 
tice  given  of  the  time,  place,  and  occasion  of  the  meeting, — 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this  meet 
ing  that  the  cause  in  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
Boston  are  now  suffering  is  the  common  cause  of  the  whole 
continent  of  North  America;  and  that,  unless  some  general 
spirited  measures  for  the  public  safety  be  speedily  entered 
into,  there  is  just  reason  to  fear  that  every  Province  may  in 
turn  share  the  same  fate  with  them ;  and  that  therefore  it 
is  highly  incumbent  on  them  all  to  unite  in  some  effectual 
means  to  obtain  a  repeal  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  and  any 
other  that  may  follow  it  which  shall  be  deemed  subversive 
of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  free-born  Americans. 

"And  that  it  is  also  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that,  in  case 
it  shall  appear  hereafter  to  be  consistent  with  the  general 
opinion  or  the  trading  towns  and  the  commercial  part  of  our 
countrymen,  that  an  entire  stoppage  of  importation  and  ex 
portation  from  and  to  Great  Britain  and  the  West  Indies 
until  the  said  Port  Bill  and  other  acts  be  repealed,  will  be 
really  conducive  to  the  safety  and  preservation  of  North 
America  and  her  liberties,  they  will  yield  a  cheerful  acquies 
cence  in  the  measure,  and  earnestly  recommend  the  same  to 
all  their  brethren  in  this  Province." 

Essex  County  (N.  J.)  Resolutions. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the 
county  of  Essex,  in  the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  at  Newark, 
in  said  county,  on  Saturday,  the  llth  day  of  June,  1774: 
"  This  meeting  taking  into  serious  consideration  some  late 
alarming  measures  adopted  by  the  British  Parliament  for 
depriving  his  Majesty's  American  subjects  of  their  un 
doubted  and  constitutional  rights  and  privileges,  and  par 
ticularly  the  act  for  blockading  the  port  of  Boston,  which 
appears  to  them  pregnant  with  the  most  dangerous  conse 
quences  to  all  his  Majesty's  dominions  in  America,  do  unani 
mously  resolve  and  agree, — 

"  *  1.  That,  under  theenjoyjnent  of  our  Constitutional  priv 
ileges  and  immunities,  we  will  ever  cheerfully  render  all  due 
obedience  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  as  well  as  full 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  221 

faith  and  allegiance  to  his  most  gracious  Majesty  King 
George  the  Third ;  and  to  esteem  a  firm  dependence  on  the 
mother-country  essential  to  our  political  security  and  hap 
piness. 

"2.  That  the  late  act  of  Parliament,  relative  to  Boston, 
which  so  absolutely  destroys  every  idea  of  safety  and  confi 
dence,  appears  to  us  big  with  the  most  dangerous  and  alarm 
ing  consequences ;  especially  as  subversive  of  that  very  de 
pendence  which  we  should  earnestly  wish  to  continue,  as 
our  best  safeguard  and  protection;  and  that  we  conceive 
every  well-wisher  to  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies  is  now 
loudly  called  upon  to  exert  his  utmost  abilities  in  promoting 
every  legal  and  prudential  measure  towards  obtaining  a 
repeal  of  the  said  act  of  Parliament,  and  all  others  subver 
sive  of  the  undoubted  rights  and  liberties  of  his  Majesty's 
American  subjects. 

* '  3.  That  it  is  our  unanimous  opinion  that  it  would  conduce 
to  the  rest9ration  of  the  liberties  of  America  should  the  Colo 
nies  enter  into  a  joint  agreement  not  to  purchase  or  use  any 
articles  of  British  manufacture ;  and  especially  any  commo 
dities  imported  from  the  East  Indies,  under  such  restrictions 
as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  a  general  Congress  of  the  said 
Colonies,  hereafter  to  be  appointed. 

"4.  That  this  county  will  most  readily  and  cheerfully 
join  their  brethren  of  the  other  counties  in  this  Province,  in 
promoting  such  Congress  of  deputies  to  be  sent  from  each 
of  the  Colonies,  in  order  to  form  a  general  plan  of  union, 
so  that  the  measures  to  be  pursued  for  the  important  ends 
in  view  may  be  uniform  and  firm;  to  which  plan,  when 
concluded  upon,  we  do  agree  faithfully  to  adhere.  And  do 
now  declare  ourselves  ready  to  send  a  committee,  to  meet 
with  those  from  the  other  counties,  at  such  time  and  place 
as  may  be  agreed  upon,  in  order  to  elect  proper  persons  to 
represent  this  Province  in  the  said  general  Congress. 

4 '  5.  That  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  other  coun 
ties  in  this  Province  be  requested  speedily  to  convene  them 
selves  together  to  consider  the  present  distressing  state  of 
our  public  affairs,  and  to  correspond  and  consult  with  such 
other  committees  as  may  be  appointed,  as  well  as  with  our 
committee,  who  are  hereby  directed  to  correspond  and  con 
sult  with  such  other  committee,  as  also  with  those  of  any 
other  Province;  and  particularly  to  meet  with  the  said 
county  committees,  in  order  to  nominate  and  appoint  depu 
ties  to  represent  this  Province  in  general  Congress." 

Bergen  County  (N.  J.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the 
county  of  Bergen,  in  the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  convened 
agreeable  to  advertisement,  at  the  Court-house  of  said 
county,  on  Saturday,  the  23d  of  June,  1774; 


222  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"This  meeting  being  deeply  affected  with  the  calamitous 
condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  in  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  in  consequence  of  the  late  act  of  Par 
liament  for  blocking  up  the  port  of  Boston,  and  considering 
the  alarming  tendency  of  the  act  of  the  British  Parliament 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America,  do  resolve,— 

"  1st.  That  they  think  it  their  greatest  happiness  to  live 
under  the  Government  of  the  illustrious  House  of  Han 
over;  and  that  they  will  steadfastly  and  uniformly  bear 
true  and  faithful  allegiance  to  his  Majesty  King  George  the 
Third,  under  the  enjoyment  of  their  Constitutional  rights 
and  privileges. 

"  2d.  That  we  conceive  it  to  be  our  indubitable  privilege  to 
be  taxed  only  by  our  own  consent,  given  by  ourselves  or 
by  our  reprentatives ;  and  that  we  consider  the  late  acts  of 
Parliament  declarative  of  their  right  to  impose  internal  taxes 
on  the  subjects  of  America  as  manifest  encroachments  on 
our  national  rights  and  Drivileges  as  British  subjects,  and 
as  inconsistent  with  the  idea  of  an  American  Assembly  or 
House  of  Representatives. 

"3d.  That  we  will  heartily  unite  with  this  Colony  in 
choosing  Delegates  to  attend  at  a  general  Congress  of  the 
several  Provinces  of  America,  in  order  to  consult  on  and 
determine  some  effectual  method  to  be  pursued  for  obtain 
ing  a  repeal  of  the  said  acts  of  Parliament'  which  appear 
to  us  evidently  calculated  to  destroy  that  mutual  harmony 
and  dependence  between  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies 
which  are  the  basis  and  support  of  both." 

Morris  County  (N.  J.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  a  respectable  body  of  the  freeholders 
and  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Morris,  in  the  Province  of 
east  New  Jersey,  at  the  Court-house  in  Morristown,  in  said 
county,  on  Monday  the  27th  of  June,  1774,  resolved,— 

"  2d.  That  it  is  our  wish  and  desire,  and  we  esteem  it  our 
greatest  happiness  and  security,  to  be  governed  by  the  laws 
of  Great  Britain,  and  that  we  will  always  cheerfully  submit 
to  them  as  far  as  can  be  done  consistently  with  the  consti 
tutional  liberties  and  privileges  of  free-born  Englishmen. 

"3d.  That  the  late  acts  of  Parliament  for  imposing  taxes 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America  are  op 
pressive  and  arbitrary,  calculated  to  disturb  the  minds  and 
alienate  the  affections  of  the  Colonies  from  the  mother- 
country,  are  replete  with  ruin  to  both;  and  consequently 
that  the  authors  and  promoters  of  said  acts,  or  of  such  doc 
trines  of  the  right  of  taxing  America,  being  in  the  Parlia 
ment  of  Great  Britain,  are  and  should  be  deemed  enemies 
to  our  King  and  happy  Constitution. 

"4th.  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the  act 
of  Parliament  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston  is  uncoil- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  223 

stitutional,  injurious  in  its  principles  to  the  general  cause 
of  American  freedom,  particularly  oppressive  to  the  inhab 
itants  of  that  town,  and  that  therefore  the  people  of  Boston 
are  considered  by  us  as  suffering  in  the  general  cause  of 
America. 

"5th.  That  unanimity  and  firmness  in  the  Colonies  are 
the  most  effectual  means  to  relieve  our  suffering  brethren  at 
Boston,  to  avert  the  dangers  justly  to  be  apprehended  from 
that  alarming  act  commonly  styled  the  Boston  Port  Bill, 
and  to  secure  the  invaded  rights  and  privileges  of  America. 

"6th.  That  it  is  our  opinion  that  an  agreement  between 
the  Colonies  not  to  purchase  or  use  any  articles  imported 
from  Great  Britain  or  from  the  East  Indies,  under  such  re 
strictions  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  the  general  Congress 
hereafter  to  be  appointed  by  the  Colonies,  would  be  of  ser 
vice  in  procuring  a  repeal  of  those  acts." 

Hunter  don  County  (N.  J.)  Resolutions. 

"The  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  Hun terdon  county, 
in  the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  convened  by  advertisement, 
at  the  house  of  John  Ringo,  in  Am  well,  in  said  county,  on 
Friday,  the  8th  July,  1774,  Samuel  Tucker,  Esq.,  in  the 
chair,  came  to  the  following  resolutions  without  a  dissent 
ing  voice,  viz. : 

"3d.  That  any  act  of  Parliament  for  the  apprehending 
and  carrying  persons  into  another  Colony  or  to  Great  Brit 
ain,  to  be  tried  for  any  crime  alleged  to  be  committed  within 
this  Colony,  or  subjecting  them  to  be  tried  by  commissioners 
or  any  court,  constituted  by  acts  of  Parliament  or  otherwise 
within  this  Colony,  in  a  summary  way  without  a  jury  of  the 
vicinage,  is  unconstitutional  and  subversive  of  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  free  subjects  of  this  Colony. 

"4th.  That  it  is  our  indispensable  duty,  which  we  owe  to 
our  King,  our  country,  ou  ;selves,  and  cur  posterity,  by  all 
lawful  ways  and  means  in  our  power  to  maintain,  defend, 
and  preserve  our  loyalty,  rights,  and  liberties,  and  transmit 
them  inviolate  to  the  latest  generations;  and  that  it  is  our 
fixed,  determined,  and  unalterable  resolution  faithfully  to 
discharge  this  our  bounden  duty. 

"  5th.  That  it  is  our  unanimous  opinion  that  it  would  con 
duce  to  the  restoration  of  the  liberties  of  America  should 
the  Colonies  enter  into  a  joint  agreement  not  to  purchase  or 
use  any  articles  of  British  manufacture,  nor  any  commodi 
ties  imported  from  the  East  Todies,  under  such  restrictions 
as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  a  general  Congress  of  delegates 
from  all  the  Colonies,  hereafter  to  be  appointed. 

"  6th.  That,  as  the  town  of  Boston  is  now  suffering  in  the 
common  cause  of  American  freedom,  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
meeting  that  subscriptions  be  hereafter  opened  in  every 
town  in  this  country,  and  the  money  subscribed  to  be  ap- 


224  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

plied  towards  the  relief  of  the  suffering  poor  in  said  town 
of  Boston  until  they  may  be  relieved  by  being  restored  to 
their  just  rights  and  privileges. 

Middlesex  County  (N.  J.}  Resolutions. 

According  to  notice  which  had  been  given  to  the  freehold 
ers  and  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Middlesex,  New  Jersey, 
a  great  number  from  every  quarter  of  the  county  met  at 
the  Court-house  in  New  Brunswick,  on  Friday,  15th  day  of 
July,  1774,  at  two  o'clock,  and  chose  John  Moores,  Esq.,  to 
the  chair;  but  as  the  Court-house  could  not  contain  half 
the  number,  the  meeting  adjourned  to  the  Presbyterian 
meeting-house,  where,  after  some  deliberation  upon  the  dan 
gerous  situation  of  the  public  affairs  in  America,  the  meet- 
ins:  unanimously  resolved  as  follows,  viz. : 

r'  1st.  That  the  members  of  this  meeting,  their  fellow-sub 
jects  in  this  Province,  and  they  are  persuaded  the  inhabi 
tants  of  America  in  general  are  firm  and  unshaken  in  their 
allegiance  to  his  Majesty  King  George  the  Third ;  that  they 
have  ever  demonstrated  their  readiness  to  support  his  Maj 
esty's  government  over  them,  and  also  to  grant  aids  to  his 
Majesty  on  any  emergency,  by  their  own  representatives,  to 
the  utmost  of  their  power. 

"  2d.  That  all  other  modes  of  taxation  in  th6  Colonies  by 
a  British  Parliament,  under  whatever  name  or  form  at 
tempted  to  be  introduced,  is  not  only  arbitrary  and  oppres 
sive,  but  has  a  direct  tendency  to  alienate  the  affections  of 
the  Colonies  from  the  parent-country,  to  widen  the  breach 
already  made  by  Ministerial  influence ;  which  it  is  earnestly 
wished  may  be  speedily  healed,  and  a  permanent  union  es 
tablished  on  a  solid  Constitutional  foundation. 

"3d.  That  the  unexampled  dis  resses  brought  on  the  Col 
ony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  particularly  that  of  blocking  up 
the  port  of  Boston  and  depriving  them  of  all  trade  and  com 
merce,  in  virtue  of  an  act  or  acts  of  Parliament,  is  a  cruel 
oppression,  in  which  all  the  Colonies  are  intimately  con 
cerned  ;  tending,  by  a  numerous  train  of  consequences,  to  fas 
ten  on  them  the  chains  of  vassalage,  and  slavery,  or  lay 
prostrate,  at  the  feet  of  an  unjustly  incensed  Ministry,  the 
inhabitants  of  this  wide-extended  country,  who  would  tri 
umph  over  their  liberties,  sport  with  their  lives,  and  chain 
their  properties  at  will. 

"4th.  We  concur  in  the  general  opinion  of  our  brethren, 
that  the  Congress  of  deputies  from  the  several  Colonies 
should  present  a  dutiful  address  to  his  Majesty,  praying  for 
a  general  redress  of  the  grievances  complained  of. 

5th.  We  are  of  opinion  (which  we  submit  to  be  consid 
ered  in  general  Congress)  that  a  general  stop  of  all  imports 
and  exports  of  merchandise  especially  to  Great  Britain,  by 
all  the  Colonies,  is  the  only  probable,  if  not  the  only  po§- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  225 

sible,  measure  to  preserve  the  liberties  of  this  country,  at 
present  in  such  imminent  danger  of  being  annihilated." 

Sussex  County  (N.  J.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the 
county  of  Sussex,  in  the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  at  the 
Court-house  in  Newtown,  in  said  county, — on  Saturday,  the 
16th  of  July,  A.D.  1774,— 

u  '  1st.  Eesolved,  That  it  is  our  duty  to  render  true  and 
faithful  allegiance  to  George  the  Third,  King  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  and  to  support  and  maintain  the  just  dependence  of  his 
Colonies  upon  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  under  the  enjoy 
ment  of  our  Constitutional  rights  and  privileges. 

"'  2d.  That  it  is  undoubtedly  our  right  to  be  taxed  only  by 
our  own  consent,  given  by  ourselves  or  our  representatives ; 
and  that  the  late  acts  of  Parliament  for  imposing  taxes  for 
the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America,  and  the  act  of 
Parliament  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston,  are  oppres 
sive,  unconstitutional,  and  injurious  in  their  principles  to 
American  freedom,  and  that  the  Bostonians  are  considered 
by  us  as  suffering  in  the  general  cause  of  America. 

"  '  3d.  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  firmness 
and  unanimity  in  the  Colonies,  and  an  agreement  to  not  use 
any  articles  imported  from  Great  Britain  or  the  East  Indies 
(under  such  restrictions  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  the  gen 
eral  Congress  hereafter  to  be  appointed  by  the  Colonies), 
may  be  the  most  effectual  means  of  averting  the  dangers 
that  are  justly  apprehended,  and  securing  the  invaded 
rights  and  privileges  of  America.' " 

Monmouth  County  (N.  «7.)  Resolutions. 

"On  Tuesday,  July  19,  1774,  a  majority  of  the  commit 
tees  from  the  several  townships  in  the  county  of  Monmouth, 
of  the  Colony  of  New  Jersey,  met  according  to  appointment 
at  the  Court-house  at  Freehold,  in  said  county ;  and  appear 
ing  to  have  been  regularly  chosen  and  constituted  by  their 
respective  townships,  they  unanimously  agreed  upon  the 
propriety  and  expediency  of  instructing  a  committee  to  rep 
resent  the  whole  county  at  the  approaching  Provincial  con 
vention  to  be  held  at  the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  for  the 
necessary  purpose  of  constituting  a  delegation  from  the 
Province  to  the  general  Congress  of  the  Colonies,  and  for  all 
such  other  important  purposes  as  shall  hereafter  be  found 
necessary. 

"  They  at  the  same  time  also  recorded  the  following  resolu 
tions,  determinations,  and  opinions,  which  they  wish  to  be 
transmitted  to  posterity  as  an  ample  testimony  of  their  loy 
alty  to  his  British  Majesty,  of  their  firm  attachment  to  the 
principles  of  the  glorious  Be  volution,  and  their  firm  and  un- 


226  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

alterable  purpose  by  every  lawful  means  in  their  power  to 
maintain  and  defend  themselves  in  the  possession  and  en 
joyment  of  those  inestimable  civil  and  religious  privileges 
which  their  fathers,  at  the  expense  of  so  much  blood  and 
treasure,  have  established  and  handed  down  to  them." 

New  Jersey  Resolutions. 

11  At  a  meeting  of  the  committees  of  the  several  counties  in 
the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  at  New  Brunswick,  on  Thurs 
day  the  21st  of  July,  1774,  and  continued  to  the  Saturday 
following,  (present,  seventy-two  members),  Stephen  Crane, 
Esq.,  in  the  chair; 

'  *  The  committee,  taking  into  their  serious  consideration  the 
dangerous  and  destructive  nature  of  sundry  acts  of  the 
British  Parliament  with  respect  to  the  fundamental  liberties 
of  the  American  Colonies,  conceive  it  their  indispensable 
duty  to  bear  their  open  testimony  against  them,  and  to  con 
cur  with  the  other  Colonies  in  prosecuting  all  legal  and  nec 
essary  measures  for  obtaining  their  speedy  repeal. 

"  '2d.  We  think  ourselves  warranted,  from  the  principles 
of  our  excellent  Constitution,  to  affirm  that  the  claim  of  the 
British  Parliament  (in  which  we  neither  are  nor  can  be  rep 
resented),  to  make  laws  which  shall  be  binding  on  the  King's 
American  subjects k  in  all  cases  whatsoever,'  and  particular 
ly  for  imposing  taxes  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in 
America,  is  unconsitutional  and  oppressive ;  and  which  we 
think  ourselves  bound  in  duty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity 
by  all  Constitutional  means  in  our  power  to  oppose. 

"  3d.  We  think  the  several  late  acts  of  Parliament  for 
shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston ;  invading  the  Charter  rights 
of  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay ;  and  subjecting 
supposed  offenders  to  be  sent  for  trial  to  other  Colonies  or 
to  Great  Britain ;  the  sending  over  an  armed  force  to  carry 
the  same  into  effect,  and  thereby  reducing  many  thousands 
of  innocent  loyal  inhabitants  to  poverty  and  distress, — are 
not  only  subversive  of  the  undoubted  rights  of  his  Majesty's 
American  subjects,  but  also  repugnant  to  the  common  prin 
ciples  of  humanity  and  justice.  These  proceedings,  so  vio 
lent  in  themselves  and  so  truly  alarming  to  the  other  Colo- 
onies  (many  of  which  are  equally  exposed  to  Ministerial 
vengeance),  render  it  the  indispensable  duty  of  all  heartily 
to  unite  in  the  most  proper  measures  to  procure  redress  for 
their  oppressed  countrymen  now  suffering  in  a  common 
cause,  and  for  the  re-establishment  of  the  Constitutional 
rights  of  America  on  a  solid  and  permanent  foundation. 

"  5th.  That  we  do  earnestly  recommend  a  general  non 
importation  and  a  non-consumption  agreement  to  be  entered 
into  at  such  time  and  regulated  in  such  manner  as  to  the 
Congress  shall  appear  the  most  advisable. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  227 

Letter  from  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  New  Jersey 
to  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  Boston. 

"  ELIZABETHTOWN,  NEW  JERSEY,  ) 
"  July  28,  1774.  f 

"GENTLEMEN:  The  arbitrary  and  cruel  oppression  under 
which  your  metropolis  now  labours  from  the  suspension  of 
commerce  must  inevitably  reduce  multitudes  to  inexpressi 
ble  difficulty  and  distress.  Suffering  in  a  glorious  and 
common  cause,  sympathy  and  resentment  with  peculiar 
energy  fill  the  breasts  of  your  anxious  countrymen.  As 
the  King  of  Kings  and  the  Ruler  of  Princes  seems,  in  a  re 
markable  manner,  to  be  inspiring  these  Colonies  with  a  spirit 
of  union,  to  confound  the  counsels  of  your  unrighteous 
oppressors,  and  with  a  spirit  of  humanity  and  benevolence 
towards  an  innocent  and  oppressed  people, — so  we  trust  He 
will  also  inspire  your  town  with  patience,  resignation,  and 
fortitude  until  this  great  calamity  shall  be  overpast.  We 
have  the  pleasure  to  acquaint  you  that  on  the  21st  instant, 
at  the  City  of  New  Brunswick,  the  Province  of  New  Jersey 
with  singular  unanimity,  seventy-two  Delegates  from  the 
several  counties  and  a  majority  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  present  and  approving,  entered  into  similar  resolutions 
with  the  other  Colonies,  elected  five  deputies  for  the  pro 
posed  Congress,  and  the  county  committees  then  agreed  to 
promote  collections  in  their  respective  counties  for  the  relief 
of  such  of  the  unhappy  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston  as 
may  now  be  reduced  to  extremity  and  want.  To  accomplish 
this  purpose  with  the  more  acceptation  to  yourselves,  we, 
the  Committee  of  Correspondence  for  the  eastern  division, 
request  that  by  the  return  of  the  post  you  will  be  pleased  to 
advise  us  in  what  way  we  can  best  answer  your  present 
necessities ;  whether  cash  remitted  or  what  articles  of  pro 
vision,  or  other  necessaries  we  can  furnish  from  hence  would 
be  most  agreeable;  and  which  we  hope  we  shall  be  able  to 
forward  to  Boston  very  soon  after  your  advice  shall  be  re 
ceived. 

"We  doubt  not  gentlemen  are  devising  every  possible 
method  for  the  employment  of  those  who  by  their  deplora 
ble  situation  are  cut  off  from  all  former  means  of  subsist 
ence. 

"We  are,  gentlemen,  your  very  humble  servants, 

"  By  order,  WILLIAM  P.  SMITH, 

Chairman." 

"  To  the  Honorable  Frederick  Smith,  Esq.,  Chief  Justice  of  New  Jersey  : 

"The  address  of  the  Grand  Jury  for  the  body  of  the 
county  of  Essex,  at  a  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  and 
General  Gaol  Delivery,  held  at  Newark,,  in  the  said  County, 
the  first  Tuesday  in  November,  1774, 


228  THE  BIRTH  OF  TEE  REPUBLIC. 

"  May  it  please  your  Honour: 

"  As  your  Honour's  charge  from,  the  Bench  was  not  so 
properly  directed  to  us  with  respect  to  our  duty  as  the 
Grand  Inquest  of  this  county,  as  matter  of  instruction  for 
the  regulation  of  our  own  personal  conduct  amidst  the 
present  commotions  of  the  Continent,  we  think  ourselves 
obliged  from  the  singularity  of  the  charge  and  its  paternal 
tenderness  for  our  welfare  to  express  our  gratitude  for  vour 
Honour's  friendly  admonitions  (which  doubtless  derived 
great  solemnity  from  the  place  in  which  they  were  deliv 
ered),  and  at  the  same  time  to  inform  you  how  far  we  have 
the  misfortune  to  differ  from  you  in  sentiment,  both  as  to 
the  origin  and  tendency  of  the  present  uneasiness  so  gener 
ally  diffused  through  all  the  Colonies.  If  we  rightly  under 
stood  a  particular  part  of  your  Honour's  charge,  you  were 
pleased  to  tell  us  that  while  we  were  employed  in  guarding 
against  '  imaginary  tyranny  three  thousand  miles  distant ' 
we  ought  not  to  expose  ourselves  to  a  *  real  tyranny  at  our 
own  doors.'  As  we  neither  know,  sir,  nor  are  under  the 
least  apprehension  of  any  tyranny  at  our  own  doors,  unless 
it  should  make  its  way  hither  from  the  distance  you  men 
tion,  and  then  we  hope  that  all  those  whom  the  Constitu 
tion  has  entrusted  with  the  guardianship  of  our  liberties  will 
rather  strive  to  obstruct  than  accelerate  its  progress,  we  are 
utterly  at  a  loss  for  the  idea  thereby  intended  to  be  com 
municated.  But,  respecting  the  tyranny  at  the  distance  of 
three  thousand  miles,  which  your  Honour  is  pleased  to  rep 
resent  as  imaginary,  we  have  the  unhappiness  to  differ 
widely  from  you  in  opinion.  The  effect,  sir,  of  that  tyranny 
is  too  severely  felt  to  have  it  thought  altogether  visionary. 
We  cannot  think,  sir,  that  taxes  imposed  upon  us  by  our 
fellow-subjects  in  a  Legislature  in  which  we  are  not  repre 
sented,  is  an  imaginary,  but  that  it  is  a  real  and  actual, 
tyranny,  and  of  which  no  Nation  whatsoever  can  furnish  a 
single  instance.  We  cannot  think,  sir,  that  depriving  us  of 
the  inestimable  right  of  trial  by  jury,  seizing  our  persons 
and  carrying  us  for  trial  to  Great  Britain,  is  a  tyranny  merely 
imaginary.  Nor  can  we  think  with  your  Honour  that  de 
stroying  Charters  and  changing  our  forms  of  government 
is  a  tyranny  altogether  ideal.  That  an  act  passed  to  protect, 
indemnify,  and  screen  from  punishment  such  as  may  be 
guilty  even  of  murder,  is  a  bare  idea.  That  the  establish 
ment  of  French  laws  and  Popish  religion  in  Canada  the 
better  to  facilitate  the  arbitrary  schemes  of  the  British 
Ministry,  by  making  the  Canadians  instruments  in  the 
hands  of  power  to  reduce  us  to  slavery,  has  no  other  than  a 
mental  existence.  In  a  word,  sir,  we  cannot  persuade  our 
selves  that  the  fleet  now  blocking  up  the  Port  of  Boston, 
consisting  of  ships  built  of  real  English  oak  and  solid  iron, 
and  armed  with  cannon  of  ponderous  .metal  with  actual 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  229 

powder  and  ball ;  nor  the  army  lodged  in  the  town  of  Boston 
and  the  fortifications  thrown  about  it  (substantial  and  for 
midable  realities),  are  all  creatures  of  the  imagination. 
These,  sir,  are  but  a  few  of  the  numerous  grievances  under 
which  America  now  groans.  These  are  some  of  the  effects 
of  that  deliberate  plan  of  tyranny  concerted  at  '  three  thou 
sand  miles'  distance,'  and  which  to  your  Honour  appears  only 
like  the  'baseless  fabric  of  a  vision.'  To  procure  redress  of 
these  grievances  which  to  others  assume  the  form  of  odious 
and  horrid  realities,  the  Continent,  as  we  learn,  has  very 
naturally  been  thrown  into  great  commotions ;  and  as  far  as 
this  county,  in  particular,  has  taken  part  in  the  alarm,  we 
have  the  happiness  to  represent  to  your  Honour  that  in  the 
prosecution  of  measures  for  preserving  American  liberties, 
and  obtaining  the  removal  of  oppressions,  the  people  have 
acted  in  all  their  popular  assemblies  (which  it  is  the  right  of 
Englishmen  to  convene  whenever  they  please)  with  the 
spirit,  temper,  and  prudence  becoming  freemen  and  loyal 
subjects. 

"  To  trespass  no  longer  on  your  Honour's  patience,  we  con 
clude  with  our  hearty  wishes,  that  while  the  great  cause  of 
liberty  is  warmly  and  at  the  same  time  so  peaceably  vindi 
cated,  by  all  honest  Americans  as  essentially  necessary 
to  public  happiness,  no  bias  of  self-interest,  no  fawning 
servility  towards  those  in  power,  no  hopes  of  future  prefer 
ment,  will  induce  any  man  to  damp  his  laudable  and  patriotic 
ardour,  nor  lend  his  helping  hand  to  the  unnatural  and 
diabolical  work  of  riveting  the  chains  which  are  forging  for 
us  by  that  same  actual  tyranny  at  the  distance  of  three 
thousand  miles." 

Newark  (New  Jersey}  Committee. 

"  Pursuant  to  the  eleventh  article  of  the  Association  en 
tered  into  by  the  Continental  Congress  held  at  Philadelphia, 
at  a  meeting  of  the  Freeholders  of  the  township  of  Newark, 
in  the  county  of  Essex,  at  the  Court-house  on  Wednesday, 
the  7th  of  December,  1774, 

"Joseph  Briggs,  Junr.,  Esq.,  in  the  chair: 

"At  a  meeting  of  a  majority  of  the  above  committee  held 
in  Newark  January  5,  1775,  Caleb  Camp,  chairman ;  Eobert 
Johnston,  clerk, — 

"  Voted,  That  the  thanks  of  this  committee  be  presented 
to  the  Honorable  Delegates  for  this  Province,  members  of 
the  Continental  Congress  held  at  Philadelphia  in  September 
last,  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  important  trust  reposed 
in  them. 

"  '  To  the  Delegates  for  New  Jersey  in  the  Continental  Congress. 

"'GENTLEMEN:  While  we  feel  our  inviolable  attachment 
to  the  person  of  the  King  and  the  present  reigning  family,  it 


230  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

is  with  the  highest  esteem  of  and  gratitude  to  you,  the  par 
ticular  Delegates  for  this  Province  (in  conjunction  with  the 
whole  of  that  venerable  body),  that  we  view  the  many  wise 
and  prudent  measures  by  you  adopted  to  support  and  hand 
down  to  posterity  inviolate  those  valuable  and  important 
privileges,  both  civil  and  sacred,  so  highly  prized  by  our 
ancestors. 

"And  'tis  with  the  greatest  resentment  that  we  so  often 
behold  your  virtuous  and  patriotic  endeavors  wickedly  tra 
duced  and  made  the  subject  of  ridicule  and  slander  by  those 
sons  of  Belial  whose  attachedness  to  their  master  will  prompt 
them  to  commit  violence  to  their  own  judgments  and  even 
feed  their  wickedness  with  the  very  blood  of  their  country. 
But  you,  sirs,  may  be  assured  that  such  authors  (when  known 
as  their  criminal  production)  shall  ever  be  treated  by  us  with 
the  utmost  contempt  as  they  merit. 

' '  And  as  a  further  mark  of  acquiescence  in  the  Association, 
and  demonstration  of  our  sincerity,  we  think  it  our  duty  for 
ourselves,  and  we  will  with  the  utmost  of  our  influence  re 
commend  to.  our  constituents  as  the  onty  probably  means  of 
securing  our  liberties,  that  the  said  Association  be  punctually 
adhered  to  and  strictly  put  in  execution. 

"That  the  blessings  of  Heaven  may  succeed  all  our  endea 
vors  to  vanquish  our  enemies  and  effectually  secure  the  lib 
erties  of  British  America,  and  finally  establish  a  happy  Con 
stitutional  and  lasting  union  between  Great  Britain  and  her 
Colonies,  is  the  sincere  wish  of,  gentlemen,  your  much- 
obliged  and  very  humble  servants. 

"By  order  of  the  Committee. 

"CALEB  CAMP,  Chairman. 

"  NEW  JERSEY  ASSEMBLY,  ) 
4 'January  11,  1775.       f 

"Mr.  Crane  and  Mr.  Kensey  also  laid  before  the  House  the 
proceedings  of  the  Continental  Congress  held  at  Philadelphia 
in  September  last,  which  were  read.  On  the  question  whether 
the  House  approved  of  the  said  proceedings,  it  passed  in 
the  affirmative. 

"Resolved,  That  this  house  do  unanimously  approve  of 
the  proceedings  of 'the  Congress,  such  as  are  of  the  people 
called  Quakers,  excepting  only  to  such  parts  as  seem  to  wear 
an  appearance  or  may  have  a  tendancy  to  force  (if  any  such 
there  be)  as  inconsistent  with  their  religious  principles. 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  James  Einsey,  Stephen 
Crane,  William  Livingston,  John  de  Hart,  and  Richard 
Smith,  Esqrs.,  or  any  three  of  them,  be  and  they  are  hereby 
appointed  to  attend  the  Continental  Congress  of  the  Colonies, 
intended  to  be  held  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  May  next, 
or  at  any  other  time  and  place;  and  that  they  report  their 
proceedings  to  the  next  session  of  the  general  Assembly :  in 
structing  the  said  Delegates  to  propose  and  agree  to  every 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  231 

reasonable  and  Constitutional  measure  for  the  accommoda 
tion  of  the  unhappy  differences  at  present  subsisting  between 
our  mother-country  and  the  Colonies,  which  the  House 
most  ardently  wish  for." 

Woodbridge  (TV.  «7.)  Committee. 

u  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  township 
of  Woodbridge,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  in  New  Jersey, 
on  Saturday  the  7th  day  of  January,  1775, 

* '  Captain  Eeuben  Potter,  Moderator, 

I  'The  Association  entered  into  and  recommended  by  the 
late  general  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  being  read  and  ap 
proved  of,  it  was, — 

"  '  1st.  Eesolved  unanimously,  That  the  said  Association  be 
adopted  by  this  town  and  carried  into  execution.' " 

Burlington  (N~.  J.)  Committee. 

"At  a  general  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabi 
tants  of  the  city  and  county  of  Burlington,  in  New  Jersey, 
qualified  to  vote  for  representatives  in  the  legislature  held 
at  the  Court-house  on  Tuesday,  the  14th  of  February,  1775, 

" Peter  Fallman,  Esq.,  chairman, 

"  The  Association  entered  into  by  the  general  American 
Congress,  convened  at  Philadelphia  on  the  5th  of  September 
last,  was  read  and  approved : 

"  *  Eesolved,  That,  in  pursuance  with  the  eleventh  article  of 
the  said  Association,  a  Committee  of  Observation  for  the  city 
and  county  be  now  appointed  for  the  purposes  in  that  article 
mentioned.'" 

"Newark  (N.  J.)  Committee. 

II  At  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  Observation  for  the 
township  of  Newark,  April  24,  1775,  present  18  members, 

"Mr.  Caleb  Camp,  chairman, 

"The  chairman  having  opened  the  business  of  the  meeting, 
and  related  the  purport  of  the  expresses  lately  received  from 
Boston,  the  following  motions  were  made  and  agreed  to  una 
nimously  : 

"  l  That  the  members  of  this  committee  are  willing,  at  this 
alarming  crisis,  to  risk  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  support  of 
American  liberty ;  and  that  it  be  recommended  to  our  con 
stituents  to  give  all  necessary  support  in  their  power  to  our 
brethren  in  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  the  present 
alarming  exigency. 

"  *  That  it  be  also  recommended  to  the  captains  of  the  mili 
tia  in  the  township  to  muster  and  exercise  their  respective 
companies  at  least  once  every  week,  and  carefully  to  exact 
that  each  man  be  provided  with  arms  and  and  ammunition 
as  the  militia  law  directs. 


232  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"  '  That  it  be  requested  of  all  heads  of  families  and  masters 
of  apprentices,  to  encourage  all  of  proper  age  under  their  di 
rection  to  learn  the  military  exercise,  and  to  allow  them  such 
portions  of  time  as  may  be  necessary  to  make  them  perfect 
therein.' 

"ROBERT  JOHNSTON,  Clerk." 

Woodbridge  (N.  J.)  Committee  to  the  Several  Committees  of 
Massachusetts. 

11  IN  COMMITTEE,  WOODBRIDGE.  N.  J.  ) 
"May,  1,1775.  f 

** GENTLEMEN:  We  have  received  repeated  intelligence  by 
expresses,  of  your  engaging  and  defeating  the  Regulars  under 
the  command  of  General  Gage,  which  is  universally  credited 
in  this  Colony ;  and  we  have  the  pleasure  of  assuring  you 
your  conduct  and  bravery  on  that  occasion  is  greatly  ap 
plauded  and  admired  by  all  ranks  of  men.  In  consequence 
of  the  intelligence,  a  Provincial  convention  will  be  held  as 
soon  as  the  members  can  possibly  be  convened.  In  the  mean 
time  the  inhabitants  are  putting  themselves  in  the  best  pos 
ture  of  defence,  being  determined  to  stand  or  fall  with  the 
liberties  of  America.  We  have  for  some  time  past  feared 
the  New  Yorkers  would  desert  American  liberty,  but  are  now 
fully  convinced  that  they  are  determined  to  support  the 
grand  cause. 

"  We  also  learn,  with  pleasure,  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Pennsylvania  and  of  the  other  southern  Provinces  are  firm, 
unanimous,  and  spirited. 

"We  have  only  to  add  that  you  have  our  unfeigned  and 
hearty  thanks  for  the  noble  stand  you  have  made,  and  our 
sincere  and  fervent  prayers  for  a  speedy  deliverance  from  all 
your  calamaties. 

"We  are,  very  respectfully,  gentlemen,  your  ob't  humble 
serv'ts. 

"  By  order  of  the  committee. 

"  MOSES  BLOOMFIELD,  Chairman." 

Town  Meeting,  Upper  Freehold,  Monmouth  County. 

"  NEW  JERSEY,  May  4,  1775. 

' '  This  day,  agreeable  to  previous  notice,  a  very  consider 
able  number  of  the  principal  inhabit  ants  of  this  township  met 
at  Imlay's  Town, 

"  John  Lawrence,  Esq.,  in  the  chair, 

"When  the  following  resolves  were  unanimously  agreed 
to: 

"  *  Resolved,  That  it  is  our  first  wish  to  live  in  union  with 
Great  Britain,  agreeable  to  the  principles  of  the  Constitution ; 
that  we  consider  the  unnatural  civil  war  which  we  are  about 
to  be  forced  into  with  anxiety  and  distress:  but  that  we  are 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  233 

determined  to  oppose  the  novel  claim  of  the  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain  to  raise  a  revenue  in  America,  and  risk  every 
possible  consequence  rather  than  submit  to  it.'  " 

Somerset  County  (N.  J.)  Committee. 

"Pursuant  to  notice  given  by  the  chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  of  Correspondence  for  the  county  of  Somerset,  in 
New  Jersey,  the  freeholders  of  the  county  met  at  the  Court 
house  the  llth  of  May,  1775, 

"Hendrick  Fisher,  Esq.,  chairman; 

"Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  clerk. 

"'Resolved,  That  the  several  steps  taken  by  the  British 
Ministry  to  enslave  the  American  Colonies,  and  especially 
the  late  alarming  hostilities  commenced  by  the  troops  under 
General  Gage  against  the  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
loudly  call  051  the  people  of  this  Province  to  determine  what 
part  they  will  act  in  this  situation  of  affairs ;  and  that  we 
therefore  readily  consent  to  elect  deputies  for  a  Provincial 
Congress  to  meet  at  Trenton  on  Tuesday  the  23d  instant, 
agreeable  to  the  advice  and  direction  of  the  provincial  Com 
mittee  of  Correspondence.' " 

"NEW  JERSEY  PROVINCIAL  CONGRESS,  ) 
"  Saturday,  June  22,  1776.      \ 

"The  Congress  proceeded  to  the  election  of  Delegates  to 
represent  this  Colony  in  the  Continental  Congress,  when 
Richard  Stockton,  Abraham  Clark,  John  Hart,  Francis 
Hopkinson,  Esquires,  and  Dr.  John  Witherspoon,  were  elected 
by  ballot  to  serve  for  one  year  unless  a  new  appointment  be 
made  before  that  time. 

"  Eesolved,  That  the  following  instructions  be  given  to  the 
Delegates  so  elected,  viz.:  To  Richard  Stockton,  Abraham 
Clark,  John  Hart,  Francis  Hopkinson,  Esquires,  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Witherspoon,  Delegates  appointed  to  represent 
the  Colony  of  New  Jersey  in  the  Continental  Congress, 

"  The  Congress  empower  and  direct  you,  in  the  name  of 
the  Colony  tojoin  with  the  Delegates  of  the  other  Colonies  in 
Continental  Congress  in  the  most  rigorous  measures  for  sup 
porting  the  just  rights  and  liberties  of  America.  And,  if  you 
shall  judge  it  necessary  and  expedient  for  this  purpose,  we 
empower  you  to  join  with  them  in  declaring  the  United 
Colonies  independent  of  Great  Britain,  entering  into  a  con 
federacy  for  union  and  common  defence,  making  treaties 
with  foreign  nations  for  commerce  and  assistance,  and  to 
take  such  other  measures  as  to  them  and  you  may  appear 
necessary  for  these  great  ends,  promising  to  support  them 
with  the  whole  force  of  this  Province ;  always  observing  that, 
whatever  plan  of  confederacy  you  enter  into,  the  regulating 
the  internal  police  of  this  Province  is  to  be  reserved  to  the 
Colony  Legislature." 


234  THE  3IETH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

DELAWARE. 

Delaware,  though  settled  many  years  in  advance  of  Penn 
sylvania,  was  annexed  to  the  larger  Colony  shortly  after  the 
organization  of  the  latter.  But  as  early  as  1702  they  were 
finally  separated,  except  that  both  Colonies  remained  under 
the  proprietary  governors,  the  descendants  of  William 
Penn,  until  the  Revolution.  Prior  to  that  period  the  Colony 
had  usually  been  styled  "The  three  lower  counties,  New 
Castle,  Kent  and  Sussex  on  the  Delaware;"  but  when  it 
threw  off  the  Colonial  government,  its  people  abandoned  the 
clumsy  practice  of  naming  all  the  counties  every  time  allu 
sion  was  made  to  it,  and  the  single  word  Delaware  was 
adopted  as  expressive  of  the  idea  of  one  people  under  one 
government.  No  Colony  was  more  prompt  or  determined 
in  resistance  of  British  aggression  upon  the  rights  of  British 
America  than  Delaware.  In  1769,  her  Assembly  adopted 
the  Virginia  resolves  against  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax 
the  Colonies;  and  as  the  following  manifestations  of  popular 
sentiment  will  show,  she  bore  her  full  share  in  the  burthens 
and  sacrifices  of  the  Revolution : 

Delaware  Convention. 

"August  1,  1774. 

"The  Representatives  of  the  freemen  of  the  Government 
of  the  counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex  upon  Dela 
ware  met  at  New  Castle,  in  pursuance  of  circular-letters 
from  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  who  was  requested  to  write 
and  forward  the  same  to  the  several  members  of  the  As 
sembly,  by  the  Committees  of  Correspondence  for  the  sev 
eral  counties  aforesaid,  chosen  and  appointed  for  that  among 
other  purposes  by  the  freeholders  and  freemen  of  the  said 
counties  respectively. 

"  Present :  For  the  county  of  New  Castle,  Thomas  McKean, 
John  Evans,  John  McKinly,  James  Latimer,  George  Read, 
Alexander  Porter ;  for  the  county  of  Kent,  Charles  Ridgely, 
William  Killen,  CaBsar  Rodney^  Thomas  Collins;  for  the 
county  of  Sussex,  Thomas  Robinson,  Levin  Cropper,  Boaz 
Manlove,  John  Wiltbank,  Stephen  Townsend; — who  im 
mediately  proceed  to  the  choice  of  a  chairman,  and  Caesar 
Rodney,  Esquire,  was  chosen  chairman,  nemine  contradicente, 
and  David  Thompson,  Esquire,  clerk.  The  resolves  of  the 
several  committees  appointed  by  the  inhabitants  of  these 
counties  respectively  were  read,  and  follow  in  these  words, 
to  wit : 

"  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants 
of  the  county  of  New  Castle  on  Delaware,  at  New  Castle, 
the  29th  of  June,  1774, 

"  Thomas  McKean,  Esquire,  chairman, 

"  Resolved,  1.  That  the  act  of  Parliament  for  shutting  up 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  235 

the  port  of  Boston  is  unconstitutional,  oppressive  to  the  in 
habitants  of  that  town,  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the 
British  Oolonies,  and  that  therefore  we  consider  our  breth 
ren  at  Boston  as  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of  America. 

"  2.  That  a  Congress  of  deputies  from  the  several  Colonies  in 
North  America  is  the  most  probable  and  proper  mode  of 
procuring  relief  for  our  suffering  brethren,  obtaining  redress 
for  American  grievances,  securing  our  rights  and  liberties, 
and  re-establishing  peace  and  harmony  between  Great  Brit 
ain  and  these  Colonies  on  a  Constitutional  foundation. 

*  *  3.  That  a  respectable  committee  be  immediately  appointed 
for  the  county  of  New  Castle,  to  correspond  with  the  sister- 
Colonies  and  with  the  other  counties  in  this  Government, 
in  order  that  all  my  unite  in  promoting  and  endeavoring  to 
obtain  the  great  and  valuable  end  mentioned  in  the  foregoing 
resolution." 

Kent  County  Resolutions. 

The  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of  Kent  county  on 
Delaware,  now  assembled  at  the  Court-house  in  the  town  of 
Dover,  this  20th  day  of  July,  anno  domini  1774,  taking  into 
their  most  serious  consideration  sundry  acts  of  the  British 
Parliament  in  which  their  power  and  right  to  impose  duties 
and  taxes  on  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  the  British  Colonies 
and  Plantations  in  America,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a 
revenue,  are  declared,  attempted  to  be  exercised,  and  in 
various  ways  enforced  and  carried  into  execution;  more 
especially  the  act  depriving  the  great  and  lately  flourishing 
town  of  Boston  of  all  trade  whatsoever,  by  shutting  up  their 
port  and  harbor  with  a  formidable  fleet  and  army, — 

"  Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  1.  That  we  dp  acknowl 
edge,  recognize,  and  most  expressly  declare  his  Majesty 
King  George  the  Third  to  be  lawful  and  rightful  King  of 
Great  Britain  and  all  other  his  dominions  and  countries; 
and  that  it  is  the  indispensable  duty  of  the  people  of  this 
county,  as  being  part  of  his  Majesty's  dominions,  always  to 
bear  faithful  and  true  allegiance  to  his  Majesty,  and  him  to 
defend  to  the  utmost  of  their  power  against  all  attempts  upon 
his  person,  Crown,  or  dignity. 

' '  Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  2.  That  the  act  of  Parlia 
ment  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston  is  unconstitutional, 
oppressive  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  town,  dangerous  to  the 
liberties  of  the  British  Colonies,  and  that  therefore  we  con 
sider  our  brethren  at  Boston  as  suffering  in  the  common 
cause  of  America. 

"Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  3.  That  a  congress  of 
deputies  from  the  several  Colonies  in  North  America  is  the 
most  probable  and  proper  mode  of  procuring  relief  for  our 
suffering  brethren,  obtaining  redress  of  American  grievances, 
securing  our  rights  and  liberties,  and  re-establishing  har- 


236  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

mpny  between  Great  Britain  and  these  Colonies  on  a  Con 
stitutional  foundation. 

"Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  4.  That  a  respectable 
committee  be  immediately  appointed  for  the  county  of  Kent, 
to  correspond  with  the  committees  of  the  sister-Colonies  and 
the  other  counties  in  the  Government,  in  order  that  all  may 
unite  in  promoting  and  endeavoring  to  obtain  the  great  and 
valuable  end  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  resolution. 

"Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  6.  That  the  committee 
now  to  be  appointed  'consist  of  thirteen  persons— to  wit: 
Charles  Ridgely,  William  Killen,  Caesar  Rodney,  John 
Haslet,  John  Clarke,  Thomas  Collins,  Esquires,  Jacob  Stout, 
Esquire,  James  Sykes,  Esquire,  James  Wells,  Thomas  Rod 
ney,  Richard  Bassett,  Esquire,  Richard  Lock  wood,  Esquire, 
and  Zadock  Crapper,  Esquire,— and  that  seven  of  them 
may  act. 

"Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  7.  That  the  said  com 
mittee  immediately  set  on  foot  a  subscription  for  the  relief 
of  such  poor  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston  as  may  be 
deprived  of  the  means  of  sustenance  by  the  act  of  Parlia 
ment  commonly  called  the  Boston  Port  Bill;  the  money 
arising  from  such  subscription  to  be  laid  out  as  the  com 
mittee  shall  think  will  best  answer  the  ends  proposed. 

"Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  8.  That  the  inhabitants 
of  this  county  do  agree  with  their  brethren  of  New  Castle 
County,  in  adopting  and  carrying  into  execution  all  and 
singular  such  peaceable  and  Constitutional  measures  as 
shall  be  agreed  on  by  a  majority  of  the  Colonies  by  their 
deputies  at  the  intended  Congress,  and  will  have  no  trade, 
commerce,  or  dealings  whatsoever  with  that  Province,  city, 
or  town  on  this  continent  (if  any  such  should  be),  or  with 
any  individual  therein,  who  shall  refuse  to  adopt  the  same, 
until  the  before-mentioned  act  of  Parliament,  and  two  bills 
respecting  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  depending  in 
Parliament  (if  passed  into  acts),  are  repealed. 

"Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  9.  That  this  committee 
embrace  this  public  opportunity  to  testify  their  gratitude 
and  most  cordial  thanks  to  the  patrons  and  friends  of  liberty 
in  Great  Britain,  for  their  patriotic  efforts  to  prevent  the 
present  calamity  of  America." 

Sussex  County  (Del.)  Resolutions. 

11  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhab 
itants  of  the  county  of  Sussex  on  Delaware,  at  the  Court 
house  in  Lewistown,  on  Saturday,  the  23d  of  July,  1774 — 

"This  assembly,  taking  into  their  very  serious  considera 
tion  the  present  very  critical  situation  of  America;  of  the 
exclusive  right  of  the  Colonists  of  imposing  taxes  upon 
themselves ;  of  the  invasion  of  that  right  by  the  statute  of 
Sixth  George  the  Third,  chapter  twelve,  by  which  statute 
and  sundry  others  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  have 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  237 

assumed  the  power  of  making  laws  to  bind  the  Colonies 
without  their  consent  either  by  themselves  or  by  their  rep 
resentatives ;  a  recent  instance  of  which  is  exhibited  in  a 
late  statute  commonly  called  the  Boston  Port  Bill:  there 
fore,  in  order  to  collect  the  voice  and  sentiments  of  this  as 
sembly,  the  following  articles  were  proposed,  voted,  and 
agreed  to : 

"'1.  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  county  owe  and  will 
pay  due  allegiance  to  his  Majesty  King  George  the  Third. 

"  '  2.  That  it  is  the  inherent  right  of  British  subjects  to  be 
taxed  by  their  own  consent,  or  by  representatives  chosen 
by  themselves  only ;  and  that  every  act  of  the  British  Par 
liament  respecting  the  internal  police  of  North  America  is 
unconstitutional  and  an  invasion  of  our  just  rights  and 
privileges. 

"  '3.  That  the  late  act  of  Parliament  inflicting  pains  and 
penalties  on  the  town  of  Boston  by  blocking  up  their  har 
bor  is  a  precedent  justly  alarming  to  the  British  Colonies  in 
America,  and  utterly  inconsistent  with  and  subversive  of, 
their  Constitutional  rights  and  liberties. 

"  '  4.  That  a  Congress  of  deputies  from  the  several  Colonies 
in  North  America  is  the  most  probable  and  proper  mode  of 
obtaining  redress  of  American  grievances,  securing  our 
rights  and  liberties,  and  re-establishing  peace  and  harmony 
between  Great  Britain  and  these  Colonies  on  a  Constitu 
tional  foundation. 

"  '  5.  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  county  will  adopt  and 
carry  into  execution  all  and  singular  such  peaceable  and 
Constitutional  measures  as  shall  be  agreed  on  by  a  majority 
of  the  Colonies  by  their  deputies  at  the  intended  Congress. 

"  '  7.  That  it  is  our  opinion  that  it  would  conduce  to  the 
restoration  of  the  liberties  of  America  should  the  Colonies 
enter  into  joint  agreement  not  to  import  any  article  of 
British  manufacture  or  carry  on  any  branch  of  trade  un 
less  under  such  restrictions  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  the 
Congress. 

"  '  8.  That  the  committee  hereinafter  appointed  are  hereby 
desired  to  receive  the  subscriptions  of  such  charitable  per 
sons  in  this  county  who  shall  incline  to  contribute  towards 
the  distressed  and  suffering  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Bos 
ton;  and  that  the  money  raised  by  such  subscriptions  be 
disposed  of  by  the  said  committee  for  the  use  of  the  said  in 
habitants,  whom  we  consider  as  suffering  in  the  common 
cause  of  America.' 

Delaware  Convention. 

Aug.  2,  1774. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  representatives  of  the  freemen  of 
the  government  of  the  counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and 
Sussex  upon  Delaware  on  the  2d  of  August,  1774,  A.M.,  it 
was  unanimously  resolved  to  instruct  the  deputies  then  ap- 


238  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

pointed  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  the  said  Government  to 
attend  the  general  Congress,  that  they  do  endeavor  to  pre 
vail  with  the  deputies  of  the  other  Colonies  and  Provinces  at 
the  general  Congress,  to  adopt  the  following  or  similar  reso 
lutions  : 

"1.  In  the  first  place,  that  we  most  solemnly  and  sincerely 
promise  and  declare  that  we  do  and  wiU  bear  "faith  and  true 
allegiance  to  his  most  sacred  Majesty  King  George  the 
Third,  our  most  gracious  sovereign  and  rightful  liege  and 
lord;  that  we  will  upon  true  revolution  principles,  and  to 
the  utmost  of  our  power,  support  and  defend  the  Protestant 
succession  as  established  in  the  illustrious  House  of  Han 
over;  and  it  is  our  most  earnest  desire  that  the  connection 
which  subsists  between  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies, 
whereby  they  are  made  one  people,  may  continue  to  the 
latest  period  of  time. 

U2.  That  the  subjects  of  his  Majesty  in  the  British- Ameri 
can  Colonies  have  had,  and  of  right  ought  to  have  and  en 
joy,  all  the  liberties,  privileges,  and  immunities  of  free  and 
natural  born  subjects  within  any  of  his  Majesty's  dominions, 
as  full  and  amply  as  if  they  and  every  one  of  them  were 
born  within  the  realm  of  England ;  that  they  have  a  prop 
erty  in  their  own  estates,  and  are  to  be  taxed  by  their  own 
consent  only,  given  in  person,  or  by  their  Eepresentatives, 
and  not  to  be  disseized  of  their  liberties  and  free  customs, 
sentenced  or  condemned,  but  by  lawful  judgment  of  their 
peers. 

U3.  That  the  only  Representatives  of  the  freemen  in  the 
several  Colonies  are  persons  they  elect  to  serve  in  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly  thereof,  and  that  it  is  the  just  right  and  priv- 
ileg;e  of  the  said  freemen  to  be  governed  by  laws  made  by 
their  General  Assembly,  in  the  article  of  taxation,  and  in 
ternal  police. 

<k  4.  That  ah1  trials  for  treason,  misprison  of  treason,  or  for 
any  felony  or  crime  whatsoever,  committed  or  done  in  the 
said  Colonies  ought  of  right  to  be  had  and  conducted  in  his 
Majesty's  courts  held  within  the  same,  according  to  the 
fixed  and  known  course  of  proceeding ;  and  that  the  seizing 
any  person  or  persons  suspected  of  any  crime  whatsoever, 
committed  in  them,  and  sending  such  person  or  persons  to 
places  beyond  the  seas  to  be  tried,  is  highly  derogatory  of  the 
rights  of  British  subjects,  as  thereby  the  inestimable  privi 
lege  of  being  tried  by  a  jury  from  the  vicinage,  as  well  as 
the  liberty  of  summoning  and  producing  witnesses  on  such 
trials,  will  be  taken  away  from  the  party  accused. 

"  5.  That  all  acts  and  proceedings  of  the  British  Parliament 
for  prohibiting  and  restraining  American  manufactures,  im 
posing  taxes  on  the  British  Colonies,  extending  the  powers 
of  Custom  House  officers  and  Admiralty  courts  here,  beyond 
their  ancient  limits,  and  seizing  and  sending  persons  sus- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  239 

pected  of  committing  treason  or  misprision  of  treason  in 
these  Colonies,  to  England  for  trial,  are  unwarrantable  as 
sumptions  of  power,  unconstitutional,  and  destructive  of 
British  liberty. 

'  '  6.  That  the  successive  acts  of  Parliament  made  in  the  last 
session,  for  inflicting  pains  and  penalties  on  the  town  of  Bos 
ton,  by  shutting  up  their  port  and  blocking  up  their  harbor  ; 
for  altering  the  administration  of  justice  in  certain  criminal 
cases  within  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  ;  and  for 
new  modelling  of  the  Constitution  of  that  Province,  estab 
lished  by  royal  Charter,  are  in  the  highest  degree  arbitrary 
in  their  principles,  unparalleled  in  their  rigor,  oppressive  in 
their  operation,  and  subversive  of  every  idea  of  justice  and 
freedom. 

"  7.  That  it  is  the  indispensable  duty  of  all  the  Colonies  not 
only  to  alleviate  the  unexampled  distresses  of  our  brethren 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  who  are  suffering  in  the  common 
cause  of  America,  but  to  assist  them  by  all  lawful  means  in 
removing  their  grievances,  and  for  re-establishing  their  con 
stitutional  rights,  as  well  as  those  of  America,  on  a  solid  and 

permanent  foundation. 

*******  * 


RODNEY,  Chairman" 

August  2,  P.M. 

"  The  convention  met  according  to  adjournment. 

'  '  And  several  letters  from  the  respective  Committees  of 
Correspondence  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  the 
Dominion  of  Virginia,  the  Colonies  of  Ehode  Island,  South 
Carolina,  and  Maryland  being  read,  and  the  convention 
taking  the  same  into  consideration,  together  with  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  freemen  of  the  counties  aforesaid,  unani 
mously  entered  into  the  following  resolutions,  to  wit  : 

"'We,  the  representatives  aforesaid,  by  virtue  of  the 
power  delegated  to  us  as  aforesaid,  taking  into  our  most 
serious  consideration  the  several  acts  of  the  British  Parlia 
ment  for  restraining  manufactures  in  his  Majesty's  Planta 
tions  and  Colonies  in  North  America  ;  for  taking  away  the 
property  of  the  Colonists  without  their  participation  or  con 
sent;  for  the  introduction  of  the  arbitrary  powers  of  the 
excise  into  the  customs  here;  for  the  making  all  revenue 
causes  triable  without  jury,  and  under  the  decision  of  a 
single  dependent  judge,  for  the  trial  in  England  of  persons 
accused  of  capital  crimes  committed  in  the  Colonies;  for 
shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston  ;  for  new  modelling  the  Gov 
ernment  of  Massachusetts  Bay;  and  the  operation  of  the 
same  on  the  property,  liberty,  and  lives  of  the  Colonists,  — 
and  also  considering  that  the  most  eligible  mode  of  deter 
mining  upon  the  premises,  and  of  endeavoring  to  procure 
relief  and  redress  of  our  grievances,  would  have  been  by  us 
assembled  in  a  legislative  capacity;  but  as  the  House  had 


240  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

adjourned  to  the  30th  day  of  September  next,  and  it  is  not 
to  be  expected  his  Honor  the  Governor  would  call  us  by 
writs  of  summons  on  this  occasion,  having  refused  to  do  the 
like  in  his  other  Province  of  Pennsylvania  —  the  next  and  most 
proper  method  of  answering  the  expectations  and  desires  of 
our  constituents,  and  of  contributing  our  aid  to  the  general 
cause  of  America,  is  to  appoint  commissioners  or  deputies 
on  behalf  of  the  people  of  this  Government  to  meet  and  act 
with  those  appointed  by  the  other  Provinces  in  general  Con 
gress.  And  we  do  therefore  unanimously  nominate  and 
appoint  Caesar  Rodney,  Thomas  McKean,  and  George  Read, 
Esqrs.  ,  or  any  two  of  them,  deputies  on  the  part  and  behalf 
of  this  Government  in  a  general  Continental  Congress  pro 
posed  to  be  held  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia  on  the  first 
Monday  in  September  next,  or  at  any  other  time  and  place 
that  may  be  generally  agreed  on,  then  and  there  to  consult 
and  advise  with  the  deputies  from  the  other  Colonies,  and 
to  determine  upon  all  such  prudent  and  lawful  measures  as 
may  be  judged  most  expedient  for  the  Colonies  immediately 
and  unitedly  to  adopt,  in  order  to  obtain  relief  for  an  op 
pressed  people,  and  the  redress  of  our  general  grievances.' 
"  Signed  by  order  of  the  convention, 

RODNEY,  Chairman" 


New  Castle  County  (Del.}  Committee. 

"December  5,  1774. 

"The  committee  chosen  in  the  several  hundreds  of  this 
county  on  the  28th  of  last  month,  in  pursuance  of  notice  for 
that  purpose  given,  this  day  assembled  at  the  Court-house 
in  the  town  of  New  Castle,  and  unanimously  chose 

4  'John  McKinly,  Esq.,  chairman  ; 

"  David  Thompson,  clerk. 

"  On  motion,  by  order  of  the  association  entered  into  by 
the  Continental  Congress  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia  on  the 
fifth  day  of  September  last,  was  read,  and  the  committee 
taking  the  same  into  consideration,  Resolved,  That  this  com 
mittee  highly  approve  the  said  association,  and  earnestly 
recommend  to  their  constituents  a  strict  and  due  observance 
thereof." 

"DELAWARE  ASSEMBLY,  ) 
Monday,  March  13,  1775.  \ 

"  The  House  met  at  New  Castle  pursuant  to  their  adjourn 
ment  (on  the  26th  of  October  last),  and  adjourned  till  to 
morrow  morning  ten  o'clock." 

"  Tuesday,  March  14,  1775. 

"  Messrs.  George  Read,  Thomas  McKean,  and  John  Clarke, 
members  of  this  House,  who  were  absent  at  the  beginning 
of  this  session,  now  appeared  in  the  house,  took  and  sub 
scribed  to  the  usual  qualifications,  and  took  their  seats  ac 
cordingly. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  241 

"  Mr.  McKean  informed  the  house  that  the  late  represen 
tatives  of  the  freemen  of  this  government  met  in  convention 
at  New  Castle  on  the  first  and  second  days  of  August  last, 
and  among  other  things  nominated  and  appointed  the  Hon 
orable  Csesar  Rodney,  Esq.,  George  Read,  Esq.,  and  him 
self,  or  any  two  of  them,  deputies  or  delegates  on  the  part  and 
in  behalf  of  this  government,  in  a  General  Continental  Con 
gress,  then  proposed  to  be  held  at  the  City  of  Philadelphia, 
on  the  first  Monday  in  September  following,  or  at  any  other 
time  or  place  that  might  be  generally  agreed  on,  then  and 
there  to  consult  and  advise  with  the  deputies  from  the  other 
Colonies,  and  to  determine  upon  all  such  prudent  and  lawful 
measures  as  might  be  judged  most  expedient  for  the  Colo 
nies  immediately  and  unitedly  to  adopt  in  order  to  obtain  re 
lief  for  an  oppressed  people,  and  the  redress  of  our  general 
grievances ;  that  the  proceedings  of  which  Convention  being 
delivered  in  at  the  table,  the  same  were  by  order  read. 
He  then  proceeded  to  inform  the  house  that  they,  the  said 
Csesar  Rodney,  George  Read,  and  himself,  repaired  to  the 
City  of  Philadelphia  according  to  appointment,  and  that  the 
Congress  had  agreed  to  the  several  particulars  contained  in 
a  printed  pamphlet  entitled  '  The  Journal  of  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Congress  held  at  Philadelphia,  September  5th,  1774,' 
and  certified  to  be  a  genuine  and  exact  copy  of  the  original 
by  Charles  Thompson,  their  secretary,  which  he  delivered  in 
at  the  table  for  the  perusal  and  consideration  of  the  house. 

"  Ordered,  That  the  same  be  read. 

"  And  the  same  was  done  accordingly. 

"Resolved,  That  the  same  be  detained  under  considera 
tion  till  to-morrow  morning. 

"  Then  the  house  adjourned  till  to-morrow  morning  at  10 
o'clock." 

"  Wednesday,  March  15,  A.M. 

"  The  house  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  late  convention  and  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and 
after  due  deliberation, 

"Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  this  house  do  ap 
prove  of  the  conduct  of  the  late  representatives  of  this  gov 
ernment  in  their  said  convention,  and  of  their  appointment 
of  the  said  Caesar  Rodney,  Thomas  McKean,  and  George 
Read,  as  deputies  on  the  part  and  in  behalf  of  this  govern 
ment. 

"Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  this  house  do  ap 
prove  of  the  proceedings  of  the  late  Congress  held  at  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  and  of  the  conduct  of  the  gentlemen  ap 
pointed  deputies  to  attend  the  same  on  the  part  of  this  gov 
ernment. 

"  On  motion  of  Mr.  Ridgely,  that  a  committee  be;  appointed 
to  prepare  and  bring  in  a  bill  to  prohibit  the  importation  of 
slaves  into  this  government. 


242  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"  Ordered,  That  Messrs.  Eidgely,  Read,  and  Clewes  be  a 
committee  for  that  purpose. 

"  On  motion,  Ordered,  That  Messrs.  Ridgely,  Clewes,  and 
Clark  be  a  committee  to  wait  upon  his  Honor,  the  Gov 
ernor,  with  the  bill  to  prohibit  the  importation  of  slaves  into 
this  government,  to  which  his  Honor  cannot  give  his 
assent." 

"  DELAWARE  ASSEMBLY. 

"In  the  House  of  Representatives  for  the  counties  of  New 
Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex  upon  Delaware,  at  New  Castle, 
Friday,  June  14,  1776,  A.M. 

u  Mr.  McKean  delivered  in  at  the  chair  a  certified  copy 
of  a  resolution  of  Congress  of  the  15th  of  May  last,  which 
was  by  order  read,  and  is  in  the  words  following,  to  wit : 

"  <!N  CONGRESS,  May  15, 1776. 

"  'Whereas,  His  Britannick  Majesty,  in  connection  with 
the  Lords  and  Commons  of  Great  Britain,  has  by  a  late  Act 
of  Parliament  excluded  the  inhabitants  of  these  United  Col 
onies  from  the  protection  of  his  Crown ;  and  whereas,  no  an 
swer  whatever  to  the  humble  petitions  of  the  Colonies  for 
redress  of  grievances  and  reconciliation  with  Great  Britain 
has  been  or  is  likely  to  be  given,  but  the  whole  force  of  that 
kingdom,  aided  by  foreign  mercenaries,  is  to  be  exerted  for 
the  destruction  or  the  good  people  of  these  Colonies;  and 
whereas,  it  appears  absolutely  irreconcilable  to  reason  and 
good  conscience  for  the  people  of  these  Colonies  now  to  take 
the  oaths  and  affirmations  necessary  for  the  support  of  any 
government  under  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  and  it  is  nec 
essary  that  the  exercise  of  every  kind  of  authority  under 
the  said  Crown  should  be  totally  suppressed,  and  all  the 
power  of  government  exerted  under  the  authority  of  the 
people  of  the  Colonies  for  the  preservation  of  internal  peace, 
virtue,  and  good  order,  as  well  as  for  the  defence  of  their 
lives,  liberties,  and  properties,  against  the  hostile  and  cruel 
depredations  of  their  enemies:  Therefore,  Resolved,  That 
it  be  recommended  to  the  respective  assemblies  and  conven 
tions  of  the  united  Colonies,  where  no  government  sufficient 
to  the  exigencies  of  their  affairs  has  been  hitherto  established, 
to  adopt  such  government  as  shall,  in  the  opinion  of  the  rep 
resentatives  of  the  people,  best  conduce  to  the  happiness  and 
safety  of  their  constituents  in  particular,  and  America  in 
general. 

"  *  Extract  from  the  minutes. 

"  'CHARLES  THOMPSON,  Secretary.' 

"By  special  order,  the  same  was  read  a  second  time  and, 
on  motion, 

"  *  Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  house  do  approve  of 
the  said  resolution  of  Congress.' 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  243 

"  Saturday,  June  15,  P.M. 

"Whereas,  It  is  become  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
safety,  protection,  and  happiness  of  the  good  people  of  this 
Colony  forthwith  to  establish  some  authority  adequate  to 
the  exigencies  of  their  affairs,  until  a  new  government  can 
be  formed ;  and  whereas,  the  representatives  of  the  people 
in  this  Assembly  met,  alone  can  and  ought  at  this  time  to 
establish  such  temporary  authority : 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  all  persons  holding  any 
office,  civil  or  military,  in  this  Colony,  on  the  13th  day  of 
June  instant,  may  and  shall  continue  to  execute  the  same  in 
the  name  of  the  government  of  the  counties  of  New  Castle, 
Kent,  and  Sussex  upon  Delaware,  as  they  used  legally  to 
exercise  in  the  name  of  the  King,  until  a  new  government 
shall  be  formed,  agreeable  to  the  resolution  of  Congress  of 
the  13th  of  May  last. 

"Extract  from  the  minutes. 

"JAMES  BOOTH,  Clerk  of  Assembly." 

The  instructions  of  the  Delaware  Assembly  to  their  dele 
gates  in  the  Continental  Congress,  authorizing  them  to  vote 
for  independence,  seem  to  be  lost;  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  the  fact.  The  delegates  voted  for  and  signed  the 
Declaration  on  the  4th  of  July ;  and  a  letter  of  John  Adams, 
of  June  14,  1876,  to  Samuel  Chase,  contains  this  statement : 

"  McKean  has  returned  from  the  '  Lower  Counties  '  [a  title 
by  which  Delaware  was  known]  with  full  powers.  Their 
instructions  are  in  the  same  words  with  the  new  ones  to  the 
Delegates  of  Pennsylvania." 

MARYLAND. 

The  Colony  of  Maryland,  after  the  disposal  of  the  Stamp 
Act,  was  for  some  years  involved  in  local  controversies, 
which  absorbed  the  attention  of  the  people,  to  the  exclusion 
of  those  which  were  soon  to  involve  her  and  her  sisters  in  a 
war  with  the  mother-country.  She  did  not  fail,  however,  to 
join  them  in  protesting  against  the  tax  imposed  by  Parlia 
ment,  in  1766,  on  tea,  and  other  articles. 

At  their  session  in  1768,  says  McMahon,  "  the  transactions 
of  this  house,  at  this  session,  in  opposition  to  the  new  system 
of  taxation,  were  characterized  by  the  same  unanimity 
which  marked  the  proceedings  of  the  Assembly  in  resistance 
to  the  Stamp  Act ;  and  their  memorials  in  vindication  of 
their  liberties  are  at  once  firm  and  temperate,  fearless  and 
dignified.  Their  resolves  assert,  as  the  exclusive  right  of 
the  Assembly,  the  power  to  impose  taxes  and  to  regulate 
the  internal  polity  of  the  Colony;  and  denounce  as  unconsti 
tutional  all  taxes  or  impositions  proceeding  from  any  other 
authority.  Their  petition  to  the  King  may  safely  challenge 
a  comparison  with  any  similar  paper  of  that  period,  as  an 


244  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

eloquent  and  affecting  appeal  to  the  Crown."  The  non-im 
portation  agreements  having  been  effectual  in  bringing 
about  the  repeal  9f  the  Stamp  Act,  "the  proposition  to  re 
vive  it  at  this  period,"  says  McMahon,  "  originated  with  one 
of  the  political  clubs  of  Boston,  and,  as  early  as  October, 
1767,  it  received  the  sanction  of  a  public  meeting  in  that 
city,  over  which  the  distinguished  James  Otis  presided  as 
moderator.  For  reasons  for  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  de 
tail,  it  did  not  then  enlist  the  concurrence  of  the  other  cities, 
and  was  soon  abandoned  by  the  Bostonians  themselves. 
But  if  then  premature,  it  was  now  the  last  peaceable  resort. 
Remonstrances  had  failed,  and  petitions  were  called  fac 
tious.  The  proposition  was  therefore  revived  in  April,  1768; 
and  letters  were  then  addressed  by  several  merchants  of 
Boston  and  New  York  to  the  merchants  of  Philadelphia, 
soliciting  their  concurrence  in  its  adoption.  By  the  latter  it 
was  declined  as  still  premature,  but  the  design  was  not 
therefore  abandoned.  On  the  1st  of  August,'  1768,  a  non 
importation  association  was  formed  in  Boston,  which  was 
followed  in  the  course  of  that  month  by  similar  associations 
in  New  York  and  Connecticut.  The  measure  was  not,  how 
ever,  adopted  until  the  ensuing  session  of  Parliament  had 
dispelled  all  hopes  of  relief  from  the  justice  of  England. 
Abandoning  their  scruples  upon  the  results  of  that  session, 
the  merchants  of  Philadelphia  acceded  to  the  association  in 
April,  1769 ;  and  their  accession  was  immediately  followed 
by  that  of  Maryland  and  Virginia. 

4  'In  Maryland  there  had  been  previously  several  county  as 
sociations  of  this  description ;  but  it  was  now  deemed  neces 
sary  to  give  them  a  more  imposing  character  and  effective  op 
eration.  At  the  solicitation  of  many  gentlemen  of  the  differ 
ent  counties,  a  circular  was  therefore  addressed,  on  the  9th 
of  May,  1769,  by  Messrs.  Dick  and  Stewart,  McCubbin,  Wal 
lace,  and  W.  Stewart,  merchants  of  Annapolis,  to  the  people 
of  the  several  counties,  inviting  a  general  meeting  of  the 
merchants  and  others  of  that  place,  "  for  the  purpose  of  con 
sulting  on  the  most  effectual  means  of  promoting  frugality, 
and  lessening  the  future  importation  of  goods  from  Great 
Britain."  The  meeting  was  accordingly  held  on  the  20th 
June,  1769,  and  was  very  fully  attended.  A  non-importation 
association  was  then  established  by  that  meeting,  for  the 
whole  Province,  which  was  similar  in  its  general  character 
and  objects  to  those  of  the  other  Colonies." 

Chestertown,  Kent.  Co.  (Md.),  Resolutions. 

"  May  18,  1774. 

"  It  must  be  universally  allowed  that  the  essential  circum 
stance  which  constitutes  the  political  happiness  of  a  free 
people  consists  in  their  being  governed  by  laws  of  their  own 
making,  or  to  which  their  consent  is  given  by  delegates  of 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  245 

their  own  choice  and  nomination.  This  maxim,  founded  on 
the  genius  of  the  British  Constitution, — the  most  perfect  un 
der  Heaven, — cannot  be  supposed  partial  or  confined,  but 
must  be  as  extensively  diffusive  in  its  benign  operations  as 
are  the  regions  subordinate  to,  and  claiming  protection  un 
der,  that  constitution. 

"The  act  of  Parliament,  therefore,  subjecting  the  British 
Colonies  in  America  to  the  payment  of  a  duty  on  tea  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  being  passed  without  their  con 
sent,  and  calculated  to  enslave  them,  cannot  but  be  deemed 
unconstitutional  and  oppressive ;  from  whence  it  clearly  fol 
lows,  that  it  highly  behooves  the  Americans,  as  loyal  and 
free-born  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  to  take  every  prudent 
and  justifiable  measure  in  order  to  evade  its  baneful  effects, 
thus  to  baffle  the  designs  of  a  corrupt  and  despotic  Min 
istry.  Our  brethren  of  the  northern  Colonies  have  al 
ready  declared  their  opposition  to  this  act;  and  as  it 
equally  affects  the  good  people  of  this  loyal  Province  of 
Maryland,  a  number  of  respectable  gentlemen,  friends  to 
liberty,  met  at  a  public  house  in  Chestertown,  on  Friday, 
the  13th  of  May,  1774,  when  a  chairman  was  chosen,  a  com 
mittee  appointed,  and  it  was  agreed  upon  to  have  a  gen 
eral  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  on  Wednesday, 
the  18th  of  the  same  month,  to  declare  their  sentiments  re 
specting  the  importation  of  tea  while  subject  to  a  duty.  A 
numerous  and  very  respectable  meeting  was  accordingly 
held,  when  the  committee  was  enlarged  and  the  following 
resolutions  were  repeatedly  read  and  unanimously  agreed 
to,  viz. : 

"  '  1st.  Resolved,  That  we  acknowledge  his  Majesty  George 
the  Third  King  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  to  be 
our  rightful  and  lawful  sovereign,  to  whom  we  owe  and 
promise  all  dutiful  allegiance  and  submission. 

u  '3d.  Resolved,  That  no  duties  or  taxes  can  constitution 
ally  be  imposed  on  us  but  by  our  own  consent,  given  per 
sonally  or  by  our  representatives. 

4 "3d.  Resolved,  That  the  act  of  the  British  Parliament, 
of  the  7th  of  George  the  Third  (chapter  46),  subjecting  the 
Colonies  to  the  payment  of  a  duty  on  tea,  for  the  purpose  of 
raising  a  revenue  in  America,  is  unconstitutional,  oppres 
sive,  and  calculated  to  enslave  the  Americans. 

"  *  4th.  Resolved,  therefore,  That  whoever  shall  import,  or 
in  any  way  aid  or  assist  in  importing  or  introducing  from 
any  part  of  Great  Britain,  or  any  other  place  whatsoever, 
into  this  town  or  county,  any  tea  subject  to  the  payment  of 
any  duty  imposed  by  the  aforesaid  act  of  Parliament ;  or 
whoever  shall  willingly  and  knowingly  sell,  buy,  or  con 
sume,  or  in  any  way  assist  in  the  sale,  purchase,  or  con 
sumption  of  any  tea  imported  as  aforesaid  subject  to  a  duty, 


246  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

he  or  they  shall  be  stigmatized  as  enemies  to  the  liberties  of 
America. 

u  *  5th.  Resolved,  That  we  will  not  only  steadily  adhere  to 
the  foregoing  resolves,  but  will  endeavor  to  excite  our 
worthy  neighbors  to  a  like  patriotic  conduct ;  and  whoever 
among  us  shall  refuse  his  concurrence,  or  after  complying 
shall  desert  the  cause  and  knowingly  deviate  from  the  true 
spirit  and  meaning  of  these,  our  resolutions,  we  will  mark 
him  out  as  inimical  to  the  liberties  of  America,  an  unworthy 
member  of  the  community,  and  a  person  not  deserving  our 
notice  or  regard. 

"  '6th.  Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  resolves  be  printed, 
that  our  brethren  in  this  and  the  other  Colonies  may  know 
our  sentiments  as  they  are  therein  contained. ' 

"  Signed  by  order  of  the  committee, 

"W.  WRIGHT,  Clerk." 

"  N.  B. — The  above  resolves  were  entered  into  upon  a  dis 
covery  of  the  late  importation  of  the  dutiable  tea  (in  the 
brigantine  Geddes,  of  this  port)  for  some  of  the  neighbor 
ing  counties.  Further  measures  are  in  contemplation  in 
consequence  of  a  late  and  very  alarm  ing  act  of  Parliament." 

Talbot  Court  House  (Md.)  Meeting. 

11  May  24,  1774. 

"Alarmed  at  the  present  situation  of  America,  and  im 
pressed  with  the  most  tender  feelings  for  the  distresses  of 
their  brethren  and  fellow-subjects  in  Boston,  a  number  of 
gentlemen  having  met  at  this  place,  took  into  their  serious 
consideration  the  part  they  ought  to  act  as  friends  to  liberty 
and  to  the  general  interests  of  mankind: 

"  To  preserve  the  rights  and  to  secure  the  property  of  the 
subject,  they  apprehend  is  the  end  of  government.  But 
when  those  rights  are  invaded ;  when  the  mode  prescribed 
by  the  laws  for  the  punishment  of  offences  and  obtaining 
justice  is  disregarded  and  spurned;  when,  without  being 
heard  in  their  defence,  force  is  employed  and  the  severest 
penalties  inflicted, — the  people,  they  clearly  conceive,  have  a 
right  not  only  to  complain,  but  likewise  to  exert  their  ut 
most  endeavors  to  prevent  the  effect  of  such  measures  as 
may  be  adopted  by  a  weak  ot  corrupt  Ministry  to  destroy 
their  liberties,  deprive  them  of  their  property,  and  rob  them 
of  their  dearest  birth-right  as  Britons. 

"  Impressed  with  the  warmest  zeal  for  and  loyalty  to  their 
most  gracious  sovereign,  and  with  the  most  sincere  affection 
for  their  fellow-subjects  in  Great  Britain,  they  are  deter 
mined  calmly  and  steadily  to  unite  with  their  fellow-sub 
jects  in  pursuing  every  legal  and  constitutional  measure,  to 
avert  the  evils  threatened  by  the  late  act  of  Parliament  for 
shutting  up  the  port  and  harbor  of  Boston,  to  support  the 


BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  247 

common  rights  of  America,  and  to  promote  that  union  and 
harmony  between  the  mother-country  and  her  Colonies,  on 
which  the  preservation  of  both  must  finally  depend." 

Annapolis,  Anne  Arundel  Co.  (Md.\  Meeting. 

"  May  26,  1774. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Annap 
olis  on  Wednesday,  the  23d  day  of  May,  1774,  after  notice 
given  of  the  time,  place,  and  occasion  of  this  meeting : 

"  Eesolved,  That  it  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this  meet 
ing  that  the  town  of  Boston  is  now  suffering  in  the  common 
cause  of  America,  and  that  it  is  incumbent  on  every  Colony 
in  North  America  to  unite  in  effectual  means  to  obtain  a  re 
peal  of  the  late  act  of  Parliament  for  blocking  up  the  har 
bor  of  Boston. 

"  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  if  the  Colonies 
come  into  a  joint  resolution  to  stop  all  importations  from, 
and  exportations  to,  Great  Britain,  till  said  act  be  repealed, 
the  same  will  preserve  North  America  and  her  liberties. 

"  Eesolved,  therefore,  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  city 
will  join  in  an  association  with  the  several  counties  of  this 
Province  and  the  principal  Colonies  of  America,  to  put  an 
immediate  stop  to  all  exports  to  Great  Britain,  and  that 
after  a  short  day  hereafter  to  be  agreed  on  that  there  be  no 
imports  from  Great  Britain  till  said  act  be  repealed,  and 
that  such  association  be  on  oath. 

"  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the  gentlemen 
of  the  law  of  this  Province  bring  no  suit  for  the  recovery  of 
any  debt  due  from  any  inhabitant  of  this  Province  to  any 
inhabitant  of  Great  Britain  until  the  said  act  be  repealed. 

"That  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  will,  and  it  is  the  opin 
ion  of  this  meeting  that  this  Province  ought  immediately  to 
break  off  all  trade  and  dealings  with  that  Colony  or  Prov 
ince  which  shall  refuse  or  decline  to  come  into  similar  reso 
lutions  with  a  majority  of  the  Colonies. 

"  That  Messrs.  John  Hall,  Charles  Carroll,  Thomas  John 
son,  Jr.,  William  Paca,  Matthias  Hammond,  and  Samuel 
Chase  be  a  committee  for  this  city  to  join  with  those  who 
shall  be  appointed  for  Baltimore  town  and  other  parts  of 
this  Province  to  constitute  one  general  committee,  and  that 
the  gentlemen  appointed  for  this  city  immediately  corre 
spond  with  Baltimore  town  and  other  parts  of  this  Province 
to  effect  such  association  as  will  best  secure  American 
liberty." 

An  earnest  protest  was  made  a  day  or  two  later  bv  a 
large  number  of  citizens  in  the  following  resolution,  which 
is  among  the  above : 

"That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the  gentlemen 
of  the  law  of  this  Province  bring  no  suit  for  the  recovery  of 


248  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

any  debt  due  from  any  inhabitant  of  this  Province  to  any 
inhabitant  of  Great  Britain  until  the  said  act  be  repealed." 

Queen  Anne  (Md.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  a  considerable  number  of  the  Magistrates, 
and  other  the  most  respectable  inhabitants  of  Queen  Anne's 
County,  at  Queenstown,  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  May,  1774, 
in  order  to  deliberate  upon  the  tendency  and  effect  of  the 
act  of  Parliament  for  blocking  up  the  port  of  Boston,  That 
they  look  upon  the  cause  of  Boston,  in  its  consequences,  to 
be  the  common  cause  of  America. 

"  That  the  act  of  Parliament  for  blocking  up  the  port  and 
harbor  of  Boston  appears  to  them  a  cruel  and  oppressive 
invasion  of  their  natural  rights  as  men,  and  constitutional 
rights  as  English  subjects,  and  if  not  repealed  will  be  a 
foundation  for  the  utter  destruction  of  American  freedom. 

'  *  That  all  legal  and  constitutional  means  ought  to  be  used  by 
all  America  for  procuring  a  repeal  of  the  said  act  of  Parlia 
ment.  That  the  only  effectual  means  of  obtaining  such  re 
peal,  they  are  at  present  of  opinion,  is  an  association,  under 
the  strongest  ties,  for  breaking  off  all  commercial  connections 
with  Great  Britain  until  the  said  act  of  Parliament  be  re 
pealed,  and  the  right  assumed  by  Parliament  for  taxing 
America  in  all  cases  whatsoever  be  given  up,  and  American 
freedom  ascertained  and  settled  upon  a  permanent  consti 
tutional  foundation." 

Baltimore  County  Resolutions. 

1  'At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders,  gentlemen,  merchants, 
tradesmen,  and  other  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  County,  held 
at  the  Court  House  of  said  county,  on  Tuesday,  the  31st  of 
May,  1774, 

"Captain  Charles  Ridgely,  Chairman, 

"  1st.  Eesolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that 
the  town  of  Boston  is  now  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of 
America,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  Colony  in  America 
to  unite  in  the  most  effectual  means  to  obtain  a  repeal  of  the 
late  act  of  Parliament  for  blocking  up  the  harbor  of  Boston. 
(Dissentient,  three.) 

"2d.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that 
if  the  Colonies  come  into  a  joint  resolution  to  stop  importa 
tions  from  and  exportation s  to  Great  Britain  and  the  West 
Indies,  until  the  act  for  blocking  up  the  harbor  of  Boston 
be  repealed,  the  same  may  be  the  means  of  preserving  North 
America  in  her  liberties.  (Dissentient,  three.) 

4  *  3d.  Resolved ,  That  therefore  the  inhabitants  of  this  county 
will  join  in  an  association  with  the  several  counties  in  this 
Province  and  the  principal  Colonies  in  America  to  put  a 
stop  to  exports  to  Great  Britain  and  the  West  Indies,  after 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  249 

the  1st  day  of  October  next,  or  such  other  day  as  may  be 
agreed  on,  and  to  put  a  stop  to  the  imports  from  Great 
Britain  after  the  first  day  of  December  next,  or  such  other 
day  as  may  be  agreed  upon,  until  the  said  act  shall  be  re 
pealed,  and  that  such  association  shall  be  upon  oath.  (Dis 
sentient,  nine.) 

"4th.  Eesolved,  unanimously,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of 
this  meeting  that  the  most  effectual  means  of  uniting  all 
parts  of  this  Province  in  such  association  as  proposed,  a 
general  Congress  of  deputies  from  each  county  be  held  at 
Annapolis  at  such  time  as  may  be  agreed  upon,  and  that  if 
agreeable  to  the  sense  of  our  sister  Colonies  delegates  shall 
be  appointed  from  this  Province  to  attend  a  general  Con 
gress  of  delegates  from  the  other  Colonies  at  such  time  and 
place  as  shall  be  agreed  on,  in  order  to  settle  and  establish  a 
general  plan  of  conduct  for  the  important  purposes  afore 
mentioned." 

Kent  County  (Md.}  Resolutions. 

"A  numerous  and  very  respectable  meeting  of  the  in 
habitants  of  Kent  County,  in  Maryland,  was  held  at  the 
Court  House  in  Chestertown,  on  Thursday,  the  2d  day  of 
June,  1774,  pursuant  to  public  notice  given  for  that  purpose. 

"The  gentlemen  of  the  Committee  being  moved  with  the 
most  tender  sympathy  for  the  distresses  of  their  suffering 
brethren  of  Boston,  particularly  of  the  laboring  poor,  who 
are  deprived  of  the  means  of  supporting  themselves  and 
their  families  by  the  operation  of  the  act  for  blocking  up 
their  harbor,  opened  a  subscription  for  their  relief,  which  in 
a  little  time  was  filled  up  to  a  considerable  amount,  and  is 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  Chairman  to  be  collected  and  shipped 
to  them  in  such  articles  of  provisions  as  may  be  most  wanted, 
whenever  it  shall  be  necessary." 

Anne  Arundel  County  (Md.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  a  very  considerable  and  respectable 
body  of  inhabitants  of  Anne  Arundel  County,  inclusive  of 
those  of  the  City  of  Annapolis,  on  Saturday,  the  4th  day  of 
June,  1774, 

"Mr.  Brice  Beale  Worthington,  Moderator, 

"1.  Eesolved  unanimously,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
meeting  that  the  town  of  Boston  is  now  suffering  in  the 
common  cause  of  America,  and  that  it  is  incumbent  on  every 
Colony  in  America  to  unite  in  effectual  means  to  obtain  a 
repeal  of  the  late  act  of  Parliament  for  blocking  up  the  har 
bor  of  Boston. 

"  2.  Eesolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  if 
the  Colonies  come  into  a  joint  resolution  to  stop  all  importa 
tions  from  and  exportations  to  Great  Britain  and  the  West 


250  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Indies  till  the  said  act  be  repealed,  the  same  will  be  the  most 
effectual  means  to  6btain  a  repeal  of  the  said  act,  and  pre 
serve  North  America  and  her  liberties. 

"3.  Resolved,  therefore,  unanimously,  That  the  inhabit 
ants  of  this  county  will  join  in  an  association  with  the  several 
counties  in  this  Province  and  the  principal  Colonies  in 
America  to  put  a  stop  to  exports  to  Great  Britain  and  the 
West  Indies  after  the  ninth  day  of  October  next,  or  such 
other  day  as  may  be  agreed  on,  and  to  put  a  stop  to  the  im 
ports  of  goods  not  already  ordered,  and  of  those  ordered 
that  shall  not  be  shipped  from  Great  Britain  by  the  20th  day 
of  July  next,  or  such  other  day  as  may  be  agreed  on,  until 
the  said  act  shall  be  repealed ;  and  that  such  association  be 
on  oath." 

Harford  County  (Md.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  a  very  considerable  and  respectable  body 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Harford  County  of  Maryland,  on  the 
llth  day  of  June,  1774, 

"AquilaHall,  Chairman, 

"  1st.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  9pinion  of  this  meeting  that 
the  town  of  Boston  is  now  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of 
America,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  Colony  to  unite  in 
the  most  effectual  constitutional  means  to  obtain  a  repeal  of 
the  late  act  of  Parliament  for  blocking  up  the  harbor  and 
port  of  Boston. 

"2d.  Resolved, 
tion  with  the 

to  export  to  or  import  from  Great  Britain  any  kind  of  prod 
uce  or  merchandise  after  such  a  day  as  the  committees  of 
the  several  counties  at  their  general  meeting  shall  fix,  until 
the  repeal  of  the  Boston  Port  Act. 

"3d.  Resolved,  That  we  will  deal  with  none  of  the  West 
India  Islands,  Colony  or  Colonies,  person  or  persons  resid 
ing  therein,  who  shall  not  enter  into  similar  resolves  with  a 
majority  of  the  Colonies,  within  such  time  as  the  general 
committees  of  this  Province  shall  agree,  but  hold  him  or  them 
as  an  enemy  or  enemies  to  American  liberty." 

Frederick  County  (Md.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  a  respectable  and  numerous  body  of  the 
Freemen  of  the  lower  part  of  Frederick  County  at  Charles 
Hungeeford's  Tavern,  on  Saturday,  the  llth  day  of  June, 
1774, 

"Mr.  Henry  Griffith,  Moderator, 

"1.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that 
the  town  of  Boston  is  now  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of 
America. 

"2.  Resolved  unanimously,  That  every  legal  and  consti- 


X. 

red,  That,  therefore,  we  will  join  in  an  associa- 
other  counties  of  this  Province,  on  oath,  not 


THE  BIRTII  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  251 

tutional  measure  ought  to  be  used  by  all  America  for  pro 
curing  a  repeal  of  the  act  of  Parliament  for  blocking  up  the 
harbor  of  Boston. 

"3.  Resolved  unanimously,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
meeting  that  the  most  effectual  means  for  securing  Ameri 
can  freedom  will  be  to  break  off  all  commerce  with  Great 
Britain  and  the  West  Indies,  until  the  said  act  be  repealed 
and  the  right  of  taxation  given  up  on  permanent  principles." 

Charles  County  (Md.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Charles  County,  on 
the  14th  of  June,  1774,  at  the  Court-house  in  Port-Tobacco 
town  to  deliberate  on  the  effect  and  tendency  of  the  act  of 
Parliament  for  blocking  up  the  port  and  harbor  of  Boston, 

"Mr.  Walter  Hanson  unanimously  chosen  chairman, 

"  1st.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that 
the  act  of  the  British  Parliament  passed  to  block  up  the 
harbor  and  port  of  Boston  and  suspend  the  trade  and  com 
merce  of  that  town  is  a  violent  attack  upon  the  liberty  and 
property  of  the  inhabitants  thereof,  and  in  its  consequences 
tends  to  render  insecure  and  destroy  the  rights  and  privi 
leges  of  all  British  America. 

"2d.  That  the  town  of  Boston  now  suffering  under  the 
execution  of  the  said  act  justly  demands  the  most  speedy 
and  effectual  assistance  of  every  Colony  in  America  to  ob 
tain  a  repeal  of  the  same. 

"3d.  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  county  will  join  in  an 
association  with  the  several  counties  of  this  Province  to  put 
a  stop  to  all  imports  from  Great  Britain  after  the  first  day 
of  August  next,  except  the  articles  of  medicine,  until  the 
said  act  be  repealed. 

"4th.  That  if  the  said  act  of  Parliament  is  not  repealed  by 
the  31st  day  of  October,  in  the  year  1775,  that  then  the  in 
habitants  of  this  county  will  join  with  the  several  counties 
of  this  Province  and  the  principal  Colonies  in  America,  to 
break  off  all  commercial  connection  with  Great  Britain  and 
the  West  Indies." 

Caroline  County  (Md.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  respectable  inhabitants  of  Caroline 
county  at  Mellville's  warehouse,  on  Saturday  the  18th  day 
of  June,  1774,  by  adjournment  from  Wednesday  the  8th  of 
the  same  month, 

"  Charles  Dickinson,  Esq.,  in  the  chair, 

"1st.  Resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  county  are 
by  duty  and  inclination  firmly  attached  to  his  most  sacred 
Majesty  King  George  the  Third,  to  whom  they  owe  all  due 
obedience  and  allegiance. 

"  2d.  That  it  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this  meeting  that 


252  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

the  Boston  Port  Act  is  principally  grounded  on  the  oppo 
sition  made  by  the  inhabitants  of  that  town  to  the  tea  duty ; 
that  the  said  town  of  Boston  is  now  suffering  in  the  com 
mon  cause  of  British  America,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  Colony  thereof  to  unite  in  the  most  effectual  means 
to  obtain  a  repeal  of  the  late  act  of  Parliament  for  shutting 
up  the  port  of  Boston. 

"3d.  That  it  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this  meeting 
that  if  the  Colonies  come  into  a  resolution  to  forbear  all 
importations  whatsoever  from  Great  Britain  (except  such 
articles  as  are  absolutely  necessary)  until  the  acts  of  Parlia 
ment  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston  and  for  levying  a 
duty  on  America  for  the  express  purpose  of  raising  a  rev 
enue,  shall  be  repealed,  it  will  be  the  means  of  preserving 
the  liberties  of  North  America." 

Maryland  Convention. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  committees  appointed  by  the  several 
counties  of  the  Province  of  Maryland,  at  the  city  of  Ajinap- 
oHs,  the  22d  day  of  June,  1774,  and  continued  by  adjourn 
ment  from  day  to  day  till  the  25th  day  of  the  same  month, 
all  the  counties  represented ; 

"Matthew  Tilghman,  Esquire,  chairman; 

"John  Duckett  chosen  clerk; 

"The  letter  and  vote  of  the  town  of  Boston,  several  letters 
and  papers  from  Philadelphia  and  Virginia,  the  act  of  Par 
liament  for  blocking  up  the  port  and  harbor  of  Boston,  the 
bill  depending  in  Parliament  subversive  of  the  charter  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  the  enabling  the  Governor  to  send 
supposed  offenders  from  thence  to  other  Colonies  or  Eng 
land  for  trial,  were  read,  and  after  mature  deliberation 
thereon, 

"1st.  Resolved,  That  the  said  act  of  Parliament  and  bills 
if  passed  into  acts  are  cruel  and  oppressive  invasions  of  the 
natural  rights  of  the  people  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  as 
men,  and  of  their  constitutional  rights  as  English  subjects ; 
and  that  the  said  act,  if  not  repealed,  and  the  said  bills  if 
passed  into  acts,  will  lay  a  foundation  for  the  utter  destruc 
tion  of  British  America;  and  therefore,  that  the  town  of 
Boston  and  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  are  now  suffer 
ing  in  the  common  cause  of  America. 

"2d.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  every  Colony  in 
America  to  unite  in  the  most  speedy  and  effectual  means  to 
obtain  a  repeal  of  the  said  act,  and  also  of  the  said  bills  if 
passed  into  acts. 

"3d.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee 
that  if  the  Colonies  come  into  a  joint  resolution  to  stop  all 
importations  from  and  exportations  to  Great  Britain,  until 
the  said  act  or  bills,  if  passed  into  acts,  be  repealed,  the  same 
will  be  the  most  speedy  and  effectual  means  to  obtain  a 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


253 


repeal  of  the  said  act  or  acts  and  preserve  North  America 
and  her  liberties. 

4 '4th.  Resolved,  Notwithstanding  the  people  of  this  Prov 
ince  will  have  many  inconveniences  and  difficulties  to  en 
counter  by  breaking  off  their  commercial  intercourse  with 
their  mother-country,  and  are  deeply  affected  at  the  dis 
tress  which  will  thereby  be  necessarily  brought  on  many  of 
their  fellow-subjects  in  Great  Britain,  yet  their  affections 
and  regard  to  an  injured  and  oppressed  sister  Colony,  their 
duty  to  themselves,  their  posterity,  and  their  country,  de 
mand  the  sacrifice ;  and  therefore  that  this  Province  will 
join  in  an  association  with  the  other  principal  and  neigh 
boring  Colonies  to  stop  all  exportations  to,  and  importations 
from,  Great  Britain,  until  the  said  act  and  bills,  if  passed 
into  acts,  be  repealed;  the  non-importation  and  non-expor 
tation  to  take  place  on  such  future  day  as  may  be  agreed  on 
by  a  general  Congress  of  deputies  from  the  Colonies,  the 
non-export  of  tobacco  to  depend  and  take  place  only  on  a 
similar  agreement  by  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and  to 
commence  at  such  time  as  may  be  agreed  on  by  the  deputies 
for  this  Province,  and  the  said  Colonies  of  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina. 

"  5th.  Eesolved,  That  the  deputies  of  this  Province  are  au 
thorized  to  agree  to  any  restrictions  upon  exports  to  the 
West  .ndies  which  may  be  deemed  necessary  by  a  major 
ity  of  the  Colonies  at  the  general  Congress. 

"llth.  Resolved,  unanimously,  That  this  Province  will 
break  off  all  trade  and  dealings  with  that  Colony,  Province, 
or  town  which  shall  decline  or  refuse  to  come  into  the  gen 
eral  plan  which  may  be  adopted  by  the  Colonies." 

"MARYLAND  CONVENTION. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  "deputies  appointed  by  the.  several 
counties  of  the  Province  of  Maryland,  at  the  city  of  Annap 
olis,  by  adjournment,  on  the  8th  day  of  December,  1774,  and 
continued  till  the  12th  day  of  the  same  month  were  present 
eighty-five  members,  viz. : 

County. 

For  St.  Mary's 4 

Charles 3 

Calvert 5 

Prince  George's 8 

Frederick 8 

Anne  Arundel(  and 

Annapolis  City) 10 

Baltimore 8 

Harford 9 

"Mr.  John  Hall  in  the  chair  and  Mr.  John  Duckett,  clerk, 
"The  proceedings  of  the  Continental  Congress  were  read, 
considered,  and  unanimously  approved. 


County. 

ForCecil 2 

Kent 2 

Queen  Anne's 4 

Caroline 4 

Talbot 1 

Dorchester 5 

Somerset 7 

Worcester 5 


254  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC, 

"  'Resolved,  That  every  member  of  this  Convention  will, 
and  every  person  in  the  Province  ought,  strictly  and  invio 
lably  observe  and  carry  into  execution  the  Association  agreed 
on  by  the  said  Continental  Congress.' 

4 'On  motion, 

"  '  Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  thanks  of  this  conven 
tion  be  given  by  the  chairman  to  the  gentlemen  who  repre 
sented  this  Province  as  deputies  in  the  late  Continental  Con 
gress,  for  their  faithful  discharge  of  that  important  trust.' 

"And  the  same  was  accordingly  done. 

"  As  a  further  regulation  to  enforce  an  observance  of  the 
late  Continental  Association, — 

"  *  Resolved  unanimously,  That  in  all  cases  where  breaches 
of  the  Continental  Association,  or  the  resolves  of  this  Con 
vention,  shall  happen  and  be  declared  such  by  any  commit 
tee  of  a  county,  no  gentleman  of  the  law  ought  to  bring  or 
Erosecute  any  suit  whatever  for  such  offender;  and  if  any 
ictor  shall  commit  any  breach  of  the  said  Association  or 
resolves,  that  no  gentleman  of  the  law  ought  to  bring  or 
prosp-mte  any  ouit  for  any  debt  due  to  the  store  of  which 
the  said  factor  has  the  management,  after  notice  as  afore 
said. 

"  'Resolved  unanimously,  That  if  the  late  acts  of  Parlia 
ment  relative  to  the  Massachusetts  Bay  shall  be  attempted 
to  be  carried  into  execution  by  force  in  that  Colony,  or  if 
the  assumed  power  of  Parliament  to  tax  the  Colonies  shall 
be  attempted  to  be  carried  into  execution  by  force  in  that  or 
any  other  Colony,  that  in  such  case  this  Province  will  sup 
port  such  Colony  to  the  utmost  of  their  power. 

"  '  Resolved  unanimously,  That  a  well-regulated  militia, 
composed  of  the  gentlemen,  freeholders,  and  other  freemen, 
is  the  natural  strength  and  only  suitable  security  of  a  free 
government ;  and  that  such  militia  will  relieve  our  mother- 
country  from  any  expense  in  our  protection  and  defence; 
will  obviate  the  pretence  of  necessity  for  taxing  us  on  that 
account,  and  render  it  unnecessary  to  keep  any  standing 
army  (ever  dangerous  to  liberty)  in  this  Province ;  and  there 
fore  it  is  recommended  to  such  of  the  said  inhabitants  of 
this  Province  as  are  from  sixteen  to  fifty  years  of  age  to 
form  themselves  into  companies  of  sixty-eight  men;  to 
choose  a  captain,  two  lieutenants,  an  ensign,  four  sergeants, 
four  corporals,  and  one  drummer  for  each  company,  and  use 
their  utmost  endeavors  to  make  themselves  master  of  the 
military  exercise ;  that  each  man  be  provided  with  a  good 
firelock  and  bayonet  fitted  thereon,  half  a  pound  of  powder, 
two  pounds  of  lead,  and  a  cartouch-box  or  powderhorn,  and 
bag  tor  ball,  and  be  in  readiness  to  act  on  any  emergency. 

'  *  Resolved  unanimously,  That  it  is  recommended  to  the 
committee  of  each  county  to  raise,  by  subscription,  or  in 
such  other  voluntary  manner  as  they  may  think  proper  and 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  255 

will  be  most  agreeable  to  their  respective  counties,  such  sums 
of  money  as,  with  any  moneys  already  raised,  will  amount 
to  the  following  sums  in  the  respective  committees,  to  wit : 


County. 

In  St.  Mary's £  600 

Charles 800 

Calvert 366 

Prince  George's 833 

Anne  Arundel 866 

Frederick 1,333 

Baltimore 933 

Harford 466 

Worcester 533 


County. 

Somerset £533 

Dorchester 480 

Caroline 358 

Talbot 400 

Queen  Anne's 533 

Kent 566 

Cecil 400 

IB  £10,000 

"  'And  that  the  committees  of  the  respective  counties  lay 
out  the  same  in  the  purchase  of  arms  and  ammunition  for 
the  use  of  such  county,  to  be  secured  and  kept  in  proper  and 
convenient  r  laces  under  the  direction  of  the  said  commit 
tees.'" 

u  MARYLAND  CONVENTION,  ) 
"  Monday,  August  14,  1775.  j 

"Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  following  Association 
be  signed  by  the  members  of  this  convention,  and  by  all 
other  the  freemen  of  this  Province : 

"  'ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  FREEMEN  or  MARYLAND,  ) 
"  '  July  26,  1775.  \ 

"  'The  long-premeditated  and  now  avowed  design  of  the 
British  government  to  raise  a  revenue  from  the  property  of 
the  Colonists,  without  their  consent,  on  the  gift,  grant,  and 
disposition  of  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain ;  the  arbitrary 
and  vindictive  statutes  passed  under  color  of  punishing  a 
riot,  to  subdue  by  military  force  and  by  famine  the  Massa 
chusetts  Bay ;  the  unlimited  power  assumed  by  Parliament 
to  alter  the  Charter  of  that  Province  and  the  Constitutions 
of  all  the  Colonies,  thereby  destroying  the  essential  securi 
ties  of  the  lives,  liberties,  and  properties  of  the  Colonists; 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  by  tiie  Ministerial  forces, 
and  the  cruel  prosecution  of  the  war  against  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  followed  by  General  Gage's  proclama 
tion  declaring  almost  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
United  Colonies  by  name  or  description  rebels  and  traitors, — 
are  sufficient  causes  to  arm  a  free  people  in  defence  of  their 
liberty,  and  to  justify  resistance,  no  longer  dictated  by  pru 
dence  merely,  but  by  necessity,  and  leave  no  alternative  but 
base  submission  or  manly  opposition  to  uncontrollable 
tyranny.  The  Congress  chose  the  latter;  and  for  the  express 
purpose  of  securing  and  defending  the  United  Colonies  and 
preserving  them  in  safety  against  all  attempts  to  carry  the 
above-mentioned  acts  into  execution  by  force  of  arms,  re 
solved  that  the  said  Colonies  be  immediately  put  into  a  state 


256  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

of  defence ;  and  now  support  at  the  joint  expense  an  army 
to  restrain  the  further  violence  and  repel  the  future  attacks 
of  a  disappointed  and  exasperated  enemy. 

"'We,  therefore,  inhabitants  of  the  Province  of  Mary 
land,  firmly  persuaded  that  it  is  necessary  and  justifiable  to 
repel  force  by  force,  do  approve  of  the  opposition  by  arms 
to  the  British  troops  employed  to  enforce  obedience  to  the 
late  acts  and  statutes  of  the  British  Parliament  for  raising  a 
revenue  in  America,  and  altering  and  changing  the  Charter 
and  Constitution  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  for  destroy 
ing  the  essential  securities  for  the  li ves,  liberties,  and  prop 
erties  of  the  subjects  in  the  United  Colonies.  And  we  do 
unite  and  associate  as  one  band,  and  firmly  and  solemnly 
engage  and  pledge  ourselves  to  each  other  and  to  America 
that  we  will  to  the  utmost  of  our  power  promote  and  sup 
port  the  present  opposition  carrying  on,  as  well  by  arms,  as 
by  the  Continental  Association  restraining  commerce. 

"  *  And  as  in  these  times  of  public  danger,  and  until  a  re 
conciliation  with  Great  Britain  on  Constitutional  principles 
is  effected  (an  event  we  most  ardently  wish  may  soon  take 
place)  the  energy  of  government  may  be  greatly  impaired, 
so  that  even  zeal  unrestrained  may  be  productive  of  anarchy 
and  confusion;  we  do  in  like  manner  unite,  associate,  and 
solemnly  engage  in  maintenance  of  good  order  and  the  pub 
lic  peace,  to  support  the  civil  power  in  the  due  execution  of 
the  laws,  so  far  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  present  plan 
of  opposition,  and  to  defend  with  our  utmost  power  all  per 
sons  from  any  species  of  outrage  to  themselves  or  their 
property,  and  to  prevent  any  punishment  from  being  in 
flicted  on  any  offenders  other  than  such  as  shall  be  adjudged 
by  the  civil  magistrate,  the  Continental  Congress,  our  con 
vention,  council  of  safety,  or  committees  of  observation.' " 

Instructions  to  Maryland  Delegates  in  Congress. 

1 1  IN  CONTENTION  HELD  AT  ANNAPOLIS,  IN  MARYLAND.  ) 
"  January  11, 1776.  f 

"  To  the  Honorable  Matthew  Tilghman,  Esq.,  Thomas  Johnson,  Jun.,  Robert 
Goldsborough,  William  Ikca,  Samuel  Chase,  Thomas  Stone,  Ifobert  Alex 
ander,  and  John  Bogers,  Esquires: 

"The  convention,  taking  into  their  most  serious  considera 
tion  the  present  state  of  the  unhappy  dispute  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  Colonies,  think  it  proper  to  deliver 
you  their  sentiments,  and  to  instruct  you  in  certain  points 
relative  to  your  conduct  in  Congress  as  representatives  of 
this  Province. 

"We  further  instruct  you  that  you  do  not,  without  £he 
previous  knowledge  and  approbation  of  the  convention  of 
this  Province,  assent  to  any  proposition  to  declare  these 
Colonies  independent  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  nor  to 
any  proposition  for  making  or  entering  into  alliance  with 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  257 

any  foreign  power,  nor  to  any  union  or  confederation  of 
these  Colonies  which  may  necessarily  lead  to  a  separation 
from  the  mother-country,  unless  in  your  judgments,  or  in 
the  judgments  of  any  four  of  you,  or  a  majority  of  the  whole 
of  you  (if  all  shall  then  be  attending  in  Congress),  it  shall  be 
thought  absolutely  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the 
liberties  of  the  United  Colonies :  and  should  a  majority  of  the 
Colonies  in  Congress  against  such,  your  judgment,  resolve 
to  declare  these  Colonies  independent  of  the  Crown  of  Great 
Britain ;  or  to  make  or  enter  into  alliance  with  any  foreign 
power,  or  into  any  union  or  confederation  of  these  Colonies 
which  may  necessarily  lead  to  a  separation  from  the  mother- 
country,— then  we  instruct  you  immediately  to  call  the  con 
vention  of  this  Province,  and  repair  thereto  with  such  prop 
osition  and  resolve,  and  lay  the  same  before  the  said  conven 
tion  for  their  consideration.  And  this  convention  will  not 
hold  this  Province  bound  by  such  majority  in  Congress 
until  the  representative  body  of  the  Province  in  convention 
assent  thereto." 

Robert  Alexander  to  Maryland  Council  of  Safety. 
(Extract.) 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  Feb.  27,  1776. 

"One  of  the  letters  was  directed  to  Willing  and  Morris, 
without  any  signature :  it  contained  a  printed  copy  of  my 
Lord  North's  Conciliatory  Act,  by  which  all  American  vessels 
found  on  the  coasts  of  Great  Britain  or  Ireland  are  to  be 
seized  and  confiscated  on  the  1st  day  of  January.  All  Amer 
ican  vessels  sailing  into  or  out  of  the  ports  of  America  after 
the  1st  of  March  are  to  be  seized  and  confiscated ;  all  foreign 
vessels  trading  to  America  after  the  1st  of  June  to  be  seized; 
all  communication  between  Great  Britain,  or  Ireland,  or 
the  British  West  Indies,  with  America,  to  be  cut  off;  all 
captures  made  by  British  ships  of -war,  or  by  the  officers  of 
the  King's  troops  in  America,  adjudged  by  this  act  to  be 
lawful  prizes,  and,  as  such,  Courts  of  Admiralty  to  proceed 
in  their  condemnation.  AJ1  orders  for  the  regulation  of 
Courts  of  Admiralty  in  America,  heretofore  made  by  the 
King  in  council,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  made,  are  con 
firmed.  The  Boston  Port  Bill,  the  Fishing  Bill,  and  the 
Restraining  Act  are  repealed  by  this  bill;  the  Colonies  being 
in  the  like  circumstances  and  situation.  The  last  clause  of 
this  more  than  diabolical  act  enables  the  King  to  appoint 
commissioners  to  grant  pardons,  and  receive  the  submissions 
of  any  Province,  county,  tovyn,«or  district.  I  shall  make 
no  comments  on  this  act ;  it  is  only  a  further  stage  in  that 

system   of   tyranny   hitherto  pursued  by  that   ,  who 

under  the  influence  of  a  Scotch  Junto,  now  disgraces  the 
British  throne. 


258  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

11  What  measures  Congress  may  pursue  in  consequence  of 
this  act,  I  know  not.  With  me  the  very  idea  of  reconciliation 
is  precluded  by  the  conduct  of  Great  Britain ;  and  the  only 
alternative,  absolute  slavery  or  independence ;  the  latter  I 
have  often  reprobated,  both  in  public  and  private,  but  am 
now  almost  convinced  the  measure  is  right  and  can  be  justi 
fied  by  necessity." 

"  MARYLAND  CONVENTION,  ) 
44  June  28,  1776.  f 

"  Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  instructions  given  by 
the  convention  of  December  last  (and  renewed  by  the  con 
vention  in  May)  to  the  deputies  of  this  Colony  in  Congress  be 
recalled,  and  the  restrictions  therein  contained  removed; 
that  the  deputies  of  this  Colony  attending  in  Congress,  or  a 
majority  of  them,  or  any  three  or  more  of  them,  be  author 
ized  ana  empowered  to  concur  with  the  other  United  Colonies 
or  a  majority  of  them,  in  declaring  the  United  Colonies  free 
and  independent  states,  in  forming  such  further  compact  and 
confederation  between  them ;  in  making  foreign  alliances ;  and 
in  adopting  such  other  measures  as  shall  be  adjudged  neces 
sary  for  securing  the  liberties  of  America.  And  this  Colony 
will  hold  itself  bound  by  the  resolutions  of  a  majority  of  the 
United  Colonies  in  the  premises:  provided,  the  sole  and 
exclusive  right  of  regulating  the  internal  government  and 
police  of  this  Colony  be  reserved  to  the  people  thereof." 


CHAPTER  V. 

VIRGINIA. 

THE  following  account  of  the  action  of  the  Virginia 
House  of  Burgesses,  with  reference  to  the  tax  on  tea  and 
other  articles,  is  taken  from  Burk's  history  of  that  State. 

The  House  also  earnestly  remonstrate  against  the  trans 
portation  to  England,  for  trial,  of  persons  charged  with 
treason,  misprison  of  treason,  and  other  felonies.  This  high 
handed  procedure,  as  elsewhere  seen,  was  in  pursuance  of  an 
act  of  35th  Henry  VIII.,  revived  in  1768  and  made  applica 
ble  to  America. 

No  Colony  excelled  Virginia  in  the  elevated  tone  and 
diction  of  the  resolutions,  addresses,  and  other  papers  that 
emanated  from  her  public  bodies.  In  those  times  her  wealthy 
gentry  sent  their  sons  to  Europe  to  be  educated,  in  many 
instances ;  and  besides,  she  had  an  excellent  institution  of  her 
own,  in  William  and  Mary  College.  To  her  honor,  also,  Vir 
ginia  has  ever  been  distinguished  for  filling  the  high  places  of 
state  with  her  best  men. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  259 

"ASSEMBLY,  ) 
"May  11,  1769.  f 

"The  Governor,  Botetourt,  having  proposed  no  specific 
objects  for  their  consideration,  the  House  proceeded,  without 
delay,  to  a  spirited  inquiry  into  the  nature  and  tendency  of 
the  late  Parliamentary  duties  which  they  scrupled  not  to 
ascribe  to  a  deliberate  intention  of  subverting  the  ancient 
rights  and  Constitution  of  the  Colony.  In  the  investigation 
of  this  important  subject,  they  were  no  longer  embarrassed 
by  the  sophistry  of  opposition,  one  unanimous  sentiment 
having  absolved  all  the  shades  and  distinctions  of  opinion. 
In  this  spirit  the  following  resolutions  were  submitted  and 
adopted : 

** '  Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  the  sole  right  of 
imposing  taxes  on  the  inhabitants  of  this  his  Majesty's 
Colony  and  dominion  of  Virginia  is  now,  and  ever  has  been, 
legally  and  constitutionally  vested  in  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
lawfully  convened  according  to  the  ancient  and  established 
practice,  with  the  consent  of  the  Council,  and  of  his  Majesty, 
the  King  of  Britain,  or  his  Governor  for  the  time  being. 

"  '  Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  it  is  the  undoubted 
privilege  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony  to  petition  their 
sovereign  for  redress  of  grievances ;  and  that  it  is  lawful  and 
expedient  to  procure  the  concurrence  of  his  Majesty's  other 
Colonies,  in  dutiful  addresses,  praying  the  royal  interposi 
tion  in  favor  of  the  violated  rights  of  America. 

44 '  Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  all  trials  for  trea 
son,  misprison  of  treason,  or  for  any  felony  or  crime  whatso 
ever  committed  or  done  in  this  his  Majesty's  said  Colony 
and  dominion,  by  any  person  or  persons  residing  therein, 
ought  of  right  to  be  had  and  conducted  in  and  before  his 
Majesty's  courts  held  within  his  said  Colony,  according  to 
the  fixed  and  known  course  of  proceeding;  and  that  the 
seizing  any  person  or  persons  residing  in  this  Colony,  sus 
pected  of  any  crime  whatsoever  committed  therein,  and 
sending  such  person  or  persons  to  places  beyond  the  sea  to 
be  tried,  is  highly  derogatory  of  the  rights  of  British  sub 
jects,  as  thereby  the  inestimable  privilege  of  being  tried  by 
a  jury  from  their  vicinage,  as  well  as  the  liberty  of  summon 
ing  and  producing  witnesses  in  such  trial,  will  be  taken 
away  from  the  party  accused. 

''Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  an  humble,  dutiful, 
and  loyal  address  be  presented  to  his  Majesty,  to  assure  him 
of  our  inviolable  attachment  to  his  sacred  person  and  gov 
ernment,  and  to  beseech  his  royal  interposition,  however 
remote  from  the  seat  of  his  empire,  to  quiet  the  minds  of  his 
loyal  subjects  of  this  Colony,  and  to  avert  from  them  those 
dangers  and  miseries  which  will  ensue  from  the  seizing 
and  carrying  beyond  sea  any  person  residing  in  America, 
suspected  of  any  crime  whatsoever,  to  be  tried  in  any  other 


260  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

manner  than  by  the  ancient  and  long-established  course  of 


It  was  then  "Ordered,  That  the  speaker  of  this  House  do 
transmit  without  delay,  to  the  speakers  of  the  several  Houses 
of  Assembly  on  this  continent,  a  copy  of  the  resolutions 
now  agreed  to  by  the  House,  requesting  their  concurrence 
therein." 

On  the  adoption  of  these  resolutions,  the  Assembly  re 
ceived  the  following  communication  from  the  Governor : 

"MR.  SPEAKER  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  BUR 
GESSES  :  I  have  heard  of  your  resolves,  and  augur  ill  of  their 
effects.  You  have  made  it  my  duty  to  dissolve  you,  and 
you  are  dissolved  accordingly." 

The  members  of  the  House  then  agreed  to  the  following 
Association : 

"Therefore,  in  justice  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  as 
well  as  to  the  traders  of  Great  Britain  concerned  in  the 
American  commerce,  we,  the  subscribers,  have  voluntarily 
and  unanimously  entered  into  the  following' resolutions,  in 
hopes  that  our  example  will  induce  the  good  people  of  this 
Colony  to  be  frugal  in  the  use  and  consumption  of  British 
manufactures,  and  that  the  merchants  and  manufacturers 
of  Great  Britain  may,  from  motives  of  interest,  friendship, 
and  justice,  be  engaged  to  exert  themselves  to  obtain  for 
us  a  redress  of  those  grievances  under  which  the  trade 
and  inhabitants  of  America  at  present  labor.  We  do  there 
fore  most  earnestly  recommend  this  our  association,  to  the 
serious  attentions  of  all  gentlemen,  merchants,  traders, 
and  other  inhabitants  of  this  Colony,  in  hopes  that  they 
will  very  readily  and  cordially  accede  thereto. 

"First,  It  is  unanimously  agreed  on  and  resolved  this 
18th  day  of  May,  1769,  that  the  subscribers,  as  well  by  their 
own  example  as  all  other  legal  ways  and  means  in  their 
power,  will  promote  and  encourage  industry  and  frugality, 
and  discourage  all  manner  of  luxury  and  extravagance. 

"Secondly,  That  they  will  not  at  any  time  hereafter, 
directly  or  indirectly,  import  or  cause  to  be  imported  any 
manner  of  goods,  merchandise,  or  manufactures  which  are 
or  shall  hereafter  be  taxed  by  act  of  Parliament,  for  raising 
a  revenue  in  America  (except  paper  not  exceeding  eight 
shillings  sterling  per  ream,  and  except  such  articles  only 
as  orders  have  been  already  sent  for),  nor  purchase  any  such 
after  the  first  day  of  September  next,  of  any  person  what 
soever,  but  that  they  will  always  consider  such  taxation  in 
every  respect  as  an  absolute  prohibition,  and  in  all  future 
orders  direct  their  correspondents  to  ship  them  no  goods 
whatever  taxed  as  aforesaid,  except  as  is  above  excepted." 

"Fifthly,  That  they  will  not  import  any  slaves,  or  pur 
chase  any  imported  after  the  first  day  of  November  next, 
until  the  said  acts  are  repealed." 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  261 

The  foregoing  account  of  the  action  of  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses  is  taken  from  Burk's  History  of  Virginia,  vol.  IV. 

In  1772,  the  House  of  Burgesses  adopted  the  following 
resolutions : 

''Whereas,  The  minds  of  his  Majesty's  faithful  subjects 
in  this  Colony  have  been  much  disturbed  by  various 
rumours  and  reports  of  proceedings  tending  to  deprive 
them  of  their  ancient,  legal,  and  constitutional  rights ;  and 
whereas  the  affairs  of  this  Colony  are  frequently  connected 
with  those  of  Great  Britain,  as  well  as  of  the  neighboring 
Colonies,  which  renders  a  communication  of  sentiments 
necessary:  In  order,  therefore,  to  remove  the  uneasiness 
and  to  quiet  the  minds  of  the  people,  as  well  as  for  the  other 
good  purposes  above  mentioned,  be  it,— 

"  Resolved,  That  a  standing  Committee  of  Correspondence 
and  Inquiry  be  appointed,  to  consist  of  eleven  persons,  to- 
wit,  the  Honorable  Peyton  Randolph,  Esquire,  Robert  Car 
ter  Nicholas,  Richard  Bland,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Benjamin 
Harrison,  Edmund  Pendleton,  Patrick  Henry,  Dudley  Dig- 
ges,  Dabney  Carr,  Archibald  Cary,  and  Thomas  Jefferson, 
Esquires,  any  six  of  whom  to  be  a  committee  whose  business 
it  shall  be  to  obtain  the  most  early  and  authentic  intelli 
gence  of  such  acts  and  resolutions  of  the  British  Parliament, 
or  proceedings  of  administration,  as  may  relate  to  or  affect 
the  British  Colonies  in  America ;  and  to  keep  up  and  main 
tain  a  correspondence  and  communication  with  our  sister- 
Colonies  respecting  these  important  considerations,  and  the 
result  of  such  their  proceedings,  from  time  to  time,  to  lay 
before  the  House. 

"Resolved,  That  it  be  an  instruction  to  said  committee, 
that  they  do,  without  delay,  inform  themselves  particularly 
of  the  principle  and  authority  on  which  was  constituted  a 
Court  of  Inquiry,  said  to  have  been  lately  held  in  Rhode 
Island,  with  powers  to  transport  persons  accused  of  offences 
committed  in  America  to  places  beyond  the  seas  to  be  tried. 

"Resolved,  That  the  speaker  of  this  House  do  transmit  to 
the  speakers  of  the  different  Assemblies  of  the  British 
Colonies  on  this  continent,  copies  of  the  said  resolutions, 
and  desire  that  they  will  lay  them  before  their  respective 
Assemblies,  and  request  them  to  appoint  some  person  or  per 
sons  of  their  respective  bodies  to  communicate,  from  time 
to  time,  with  the  said  committee." 

"  WILLIAMSBURG,  May  30, 1774. 

"The  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia,  on  the  24th  of  May, 
adopted  the  following  resolution,  which  was  directed  to  be 
forthwith  printed  and  published : 

"  «  Tuesday,  24th  May(14th  George  III.),  1774. 
1 '  This  House,  being  deeply  impressed  with  apprehension 
of  the  great  dangers  to  be  derived  to  British  America  from 


262  THE  BIRTH  OF  THIS  REPUBLIC. 

the  hostile  invasion  of  the  city  of  Boston,  in  our  sister-Colony 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  whose  commerce  and  harbor  are,  on 
the  first  day  of  June  next,  to  be  stopped  by  an  armed  force, 
deem  it  highly  necessary  that  the  said  first  day  of  June  be 
set  apart  by  the  members  of  this  House  as  a  day  of  fasting, 
humiliation,  and  prayer;  devoutly  to  implore  the  divine  in 
terposition  for  averting  the  heavy  calamity  which  threatens 
destruction  to  our  civil  rights,  and  the  evils  of  civil  war;  to 
give  us  one  heart  and  one  mind  firmly  to  oppose  by  all  just 
and  proper  means  every  injury  to  American  rights;  and 
that  the  minds  of  his  Majesty  and  his  Parliament  may  be 
inspired  from  above  with  wisdom,  moderation,  and  justice, 
to  remove  from  the  loyal  people  of  America  all  cause  of 
danger  from  a  continued  pursuit  of  measures  pregnant  with 
ruin. 

"  '  Ordered,  therefore,  That  the  members  of  this  House  do 
attend  in  their  places  at  the  hour  of  ten  in  the  forenoon  on 
the  said  first  day  of  June  next,  in  order  to  proceed  with  the 
speaker  and  the  mace  to  the  church  in  this  city  for  the  pur 
poses  aforesaid;  and  that  the  Eeverend  Mr.  Price  be  ap 
pointed  to  read  prayers  and  to  preach  a  sermon  suitable  to 
the  occasion.'" 

A  letter  to  the  inhabitants  of  Charleston,  S.  C. : 

"  NORFOLK,  May  31,  1774. 

"GENTLEMEN:  The  occasion  is  too  serious  to  admit  of 
apologies  for  this  unsolicited  communication  of  our  senti 
ments  to  you  at  this  alarming  crisis  to  American  freedom; 
for  the  time  is  come,  the  unhappy  era  has  arrived,  when  the 
closest  union  among  ourselves  and  the  firmest  confidence 
in  each  other  are  our  only  securities  for  those  rights  which, 
as  men  and  freemen,  we  derive  from  nature  and  the  Con 
stitution,  The  late  hostile  Parliamentary  invasion  of  the 
town  of  Boston,  we  deem  an  attack  upon  the  liberties  of  us  all. 
Of  the  particulars  of  that  unhappy  transaction  we  presume 
you  are  already  fully  informed,  and,  we  doubt  not,  shudder 
with  us  at  this  systematic  mode  of  depriving  the  unrepre 
sented  American  of  his  rights  and  possessions,  and  vesting 
the  Crown  with  such  despotic  power  over  the  free-born  in 
habitants  of  the  capital  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  What  meas 
ures  are  most  proper  to  be  adopted  on  this  sad  occasion  we 
are  at  a  loss  to  point  out ;  but  we  look  to  the  wisdom  of  your 
city,  in  conjunction  with  the  other  large  commercial  towns 
on  this  continent,  to  take  more  immediately  the  lead  in 
these  important  matters,  and  to  fix  upon  such  expedients  in 
the  regulation  of  trade  as  may  be  most  productive  of  relief 
to  our  suffering  brethren  of  Boston,  and  the  general  estab 
lishment  of  the  rights  of  these  Colonies;  and  you  may  rest 
assured  that,  in  every  measure  conducive  to  this  grand  con- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THIS  REPUBLIC.  263 

tinental  object,  you  will  always  meet  with  our  most  hearty 
concurrence. 

"We  are  under  great  apprehensions  for  the  people  of 
Boston,  lest  they  may  sink  under  the  weight  of  their  mis 
fortunes.  And  at  the  same  time  that  we  highly  approve  of 
the  expediency  of  a  Congress  as  proposed  by  several  of  the 
Colonies,  we  think  the  trading  part  of  the  community 
ought  particularly  to  interfere  ;  for  nothing  but  the  most 
speedy  and  efficacious  measures  can  relieve  them;  and  if, 
after  all,  there  should  be  found  an  unhappy  necessity  to  reim 
burse  the  India  Company  for  that  just  punishment  they  re 
ceived  for  their  invidious  attempts  on  our  liberties,  we  trust 
there  is  no  inhabitant  of  these  Colonies  who  feels  and  thinks 
himself  a  freeman,  but  will  cheerfully  put  his  hand  to  his  purse 
and  join  in  the  general  expense.  Inclosed  we  transmit  you 
the  proceedings  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Norfolk 
and'town  of  Portsmouth,  together  with  the  letters  and  other 
papers  from  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore,  as  also 
copies  of  the  resolutions  and  other  proceedings  of  the  mem 
bers  of  our  late  House  of  Burgesses  both  before  and  after 
their  dissolution.  We  hope  to  be  able  to  inform  you  more 
particularly  of  the  collected  sense  of  the  trade  of  this  Colony 
at  the  general  meeting  of  the  merchants  next  week  at  Will- 
iamsburg,  when  we  expect  further  despatches  from  the  north 
ward.  We  hope  the  favor  of  a  free  and  full  communica 
tion  of  your  sentiments  on  this  important  occasion,  and 
trust  that  your  nourishing  and  respectable  Province  will 
still  continue  their  generous  endeavors  for  the  establishment 
of  the  rights  of  the  Colonies,  that  the  opposition  of  all  Amer 
ica  may  be  as  extensive  as  the  oppression. 

"With  the  warmest  attachment  to  the  interests  of  the 
Colonies,  we  are,  gentlemen,  most  respectfully,  your  most 
obedient  humble  servants, 

THOMAS  NEWTON,  JUNR.,  JOHN  GREENWOOD, 

JOSEPH  HUTCHINGS,  ALEXANDER  SKINNER, 

PAUL  LOYALL,  WILLIAM  HARVEY, 

ALEXANDER  LOVE,  NIEL  JAMIESON." 

SAMUEL  INGLIS, 

Prince  William  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders,  merchants,  and  other  in 
habitants  of  the  county  of  Prince  William,  and  town  of 
Dumfries,  in  the  Colony  of  Virginia,  at  the  Court-house  of 
said  county,  on  Monday  the  6th  day  of  June,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1774, — 

"  '  Resolved,  and  it  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this  meet 
ing,  That  no  person  ought  to  be  taxed  but  by  his  own  consent, 
expressed  either  by  himself  or  his  representatives ;  and  that 
therefore  any  act  of  Parliament  levying  a  tax  to  be  collected 
in  America,  depriving  the  people  of  their  property,  or  prohib- 


264  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

itingthem  from  trading  with  one  another  is  subversive  of  our 
natural  rights  and  contrary  to  the  first  principles  of  the  Con 
stitution. 

"  *  Resolved,  That  the  city  of  Boston,  in  the  Massachusetts 
Bay,  is  now  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of  American  lib 
erty,  and  on  account  of  its  opposition  to  an  act  of  the  Brit 
ish  legislature  for  imposing  a  duty  upon  the  tea  to  be  col 
lected  in  America.' " 

Woodstock  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of 
the  county  of  Dunmore,  held  at  the  town  of  Woodstock,  the 
16th  day  of  June,  1774,  to  consider  the  best  mode  to  be 
fallen  upon  to  secure  their  liberties  and  properties ;  and  also 
to  prevent  the  dangerous  tendency  of  [which]  an  act  of  Par 
liament  passed  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  present  Majesty's 
reign,  entitled,  *  An  Act  to  Discontinue  in  Such  Manner  and 
for  Such  Time  as  is  Therein  Mentioned,  the  Landing  and  Dis 
charging,  Lading  or  Shipping  of  Goods,  Wares,  and  Mer 
chandise,  at  the  Town  and  Within  the  Harbor  of  Boston,  in 
the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  North  America,' 
evidently  has, to  invade  and  deprive  us  of  the  same. 

"  '  Resolved,  1st.  That  we  will  always  cheerfully  pay  due 
submission  to  such  acts  of  government  as  his  Majesty  has  a 
right  by  law  to  exercise  over  his  subjects,  as  sovereign,  to 
the  British  dominions,  and  to  such  only. 

u'2d.  That  it  is  the  inherent  right  of  British  subjects  to 
be  governed  and  taxed  by  representatives  chosen  by  them 
selves  only;  and  that  every  act  of  the  British  Parliament 
respecting  the  internal  policy  of  North  America  is  a  dan 
gerous  and  unconstitutional  invasion  of  our  rights  and 
privileges. 

"  *  3d.  That  the  act  of  Parliament  above  mentioned  is  not 
only  itself  repugnant  to  the  fundamental  laws  of  natural 
justice  in  condemning  persons,  for  supposed  crime,  unheard ; 
but  also  a  despotic  exertion  of  unconstitutional  power,  cal 
culated  to  enslave  a  free  and  loyal  people. 

"  *  4th.  That  the  enforcing  the  execution  of  the  said  act  of 
Parliament  by  a  military  power  will  have  a  necessary  ten 
dency  to  raise  a  civil  war,  thereby  dissolving  that  union 
which  has  so  long  happily  subsisted  between  the  mother- 
country  and  her  Colonies;  and  that  we  will  most  heartily 
and  unanimously  concur  with  our  suffering  brethren  of 
Boston,  and  every  other  part  of  North  America  that  may 
be  the  immediate  victims  of  tyranny,  in  promoting  all 
proper  measures  to  avert  such  dreadful  calamities,  to  pro 
cure  a  redress  of  our  grievances,  and  to  secure  our  common 
liberties. 

"  '  5th.  It  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  a 
joint  resolution  of  all  the  Colonies  to  stop  all  importations 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  265 

from  Great  Britain,  and  expectations  to  it,  till  the  said  act 
be  repealed,  will  prove  the  salvation  of  North  America  and 
her  liberties;  on  the  other  hand,  if  they  continue  their  im 
ports  and  exports,  there  is  the  greatest  reason  to  fear  that 
power  and  the  most  odious  oppression  will  rise  triumphant 
over  right,  justice,  social  happiness,  and  freedom.' " 

Westmoreland  County  (Va.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  respectable  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  in 
habitants  of  the  county  of  Westmoreland,  assembled,  on 
due  notice,  at  the  Court-house  of  the  said  county,  on  Wed 
nesday  the  22d  of  June,  1774,— 

"  k  Eesplved,  1st.  That  to  be  taxed  solely  in  our  Provincial 
Assemblies,  by  representatives  freely  chosen  by  the  people, 
is  a  right  that  British  subjects  in  America  are  entitled  to 
from  natural  justice,  from  the  English  Constitution,  from 
charters,  and  from  a  confirmation  of  these  by  usage  since 
the  first  establishment  of  these  Colonies. 

"  *2d.  That  an  endeavor  to  enforce  submission  from  one 
Colony,  to  the  payment  of  taxes  not  so  imposed,  is  a  danger 
ous  attack  on  the  liberty  and  property  or  British  America, 
and  renders  it  indispensably  necessary  that  all  should 
firmly  unite  to  resist  the  common  danger. 

"  *  3d.  It  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the  town  of 
Boston,  in  our  sister-Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  is  now 
suffering  in  the  common  cause  of  North  America,  by  hav 
ing  its  harbor  blocked  up,  its  commerce  destroyed,  and  the 
property  of  many  of  its  inhabitants  violently  taken  from 
them,  until  they  submit  to  taxes  not  imposed  by  their  con 
sent:  and  therefore  this  meeting  resolve,— 

"  '  4th.  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  county  will  most  cor 
dially  and  firmly  join  with  the  other  counties  in  this  Colony, 
and  the  other  Colonies  on  this  continent,  or  the  majority  of 
them,  after  a  short  day,  hereafter  to  be  agreed  on,  to  stop 
all  exports  to  Great  Britain  and  the  West  Indies,  and  all 
imports  from  thence,  until  as  well  the  act  of  Parliament  en 
titled  '  An  Act  to  Discontinue  in  Such  Manner  and  for  Such 
Time  as  are  Therein  Mentioned,  the  Landing  and  Discharg 
ing,  Lading  and  Shipping,  of  Goods,  Wares,  and  Merchandise, 
at  the  Town  and  Within  the  Harbor  of  Boston,  in  the  Prov 
ince  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  North  America, '  as  the  several 
acts  laying  duties  on  America,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a 
revenue,  and  all  the  acts  of  the  British  legislature  made 
against  our  brothers  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  consequence 
of  their  just  opposition  to  the  said  revenue  acts,  are  re 
pealed  ;  and  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  such  a  non- 
importing  and  non-exporting  plan  should  be  quickly  entered 
upon,  as  well  on  the  evident  principle  of  self-preservation, 
as  to  relieve  our  suffering  countrymen  and  fellow-subjects 
in  Boston  and  to  restore  between  Great  Britain  and  Amer- 


266  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

ica  that  harmony  so  beneficial  to  the  whole  empire,  and  so 
ardently  desired  by  all  America.' " 

Spottsylvania  County  (Va.)  Resolutions. 

"We,  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  county  of 
Spottsylvania,  being  assembled  on  this  24th  day  of  June, 
1774,  to  advise  and  consult  with  our  late  representatives 
(agreeable  to  their  invitation)  on  the  present  state  of  British 
America,  and  having  taken  under  our  most  serious  considera 
tion  the  several  acts  of  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  made 
during  the  present  reign,  respecting  America,  particularly 
one  act  wherein  a  duty  on  tea  is  made  payable  in  America  for 
the  puroose  of  raising  a  revenue,  and  three  other  acts  of  the 
last  session  of  the  present  Parliament  respecting  the  Prov 
ince  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  are  of  opinion :  That  the  said  sev 
eral  acts  of  Parliament  are  unconstitutional,  arbitrary,  and 
unjust,  manifestly  calculated  for  the  destruction  of  the 
rights  of  America  and  the  British  Constitution  in  general, 
and  ought  to  be  opposed  by  all  well-wishers  as  well  of  the 
mother-country  as  of  the  Colonies,  whose  interests  are  mu 
tual,  and  ought  ever  to  be  considered  as  inseparable. 

"  Resolved  further,  That  we  owe  no  obedience  to  any  act 
of  the  British  Parliament  that  is  or  shall  be  made  respecting 
the  internal  police  of  this  Colony,  and  that  we  will  oppose 
any  such  acts  with  our  lives  and  fortunes. 

Resolved,  That  the  said  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  re 
specting  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  and  the 
town  of  Boston,  tending  to  enforce  obedience  to  the  aforesaid 
unconstitutional  act  imposing  a  duty  upon  tea  for  raising  a 
revenue  in  America,  ought  to  be  considered  as  an  attempt 
against  the  rights  and  liberties  of  America  in  general,  and 
that  the  same  ought  to  be  opposed  by  the  people  of  this  Col 
ony. 

"Resolved,  That  the  most  effectual  method  of  opposing 
the  said  several  acts  of  Parliament  will  be  to  break  off  all 
commercial  connection  with  Great  Britain  till  the  said  acts 
be  repealed." 

Richmond  County  (Va.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  respectable  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  freemen 
of  the  county  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  after  due  notice  to  at 
tend  at  the  Court-house  of  said  county,  on  Wednesday  the 
29th  of  June,  1774,  in  order  to  give  their  sentiments  to  their 
late  representatives  invited  to  meet  in  Williamsburg  on  the 
first  day  of  August  next,  to  deliberate  on  the  matters  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  this  country,  they  after  making  choice 
of  the  Reverend  Isaac  William  Giberne  as  moderator,  came 
to  the  following  resolutions : 

"1st.  That  it  is  the  undoubted  right  of  the  people  of 
British  America  to  be  taxed  only  by  their  respective  Provin- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  TITS  REPUBLIC.  267 

cial  Assemblies,  which  right  they  claim  from  Charter,  nat 
ural  justice,  and  constant  usage  ever  since  their  first  settle 
ment  in  America ;  and  that  an  attempt  to  force  one  Colony 
to  pay  tax  imposed  by  the  British  Legislature  where  they 
have  not  nor  could  have  any  representative,  is  a  violent  at 
tack  on  their  constitutional  rights. 

"3d.  They  do  respect  the  Bostonians  in  their  sister  Col 
ony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  as  suffering  in  the  common  cause 
of  British  America;  and  that  the  hostile  attack  now  made 
on  them  by  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  in  blocking  up 
their  harbor  and  violently  taking  away  the  property  of 
many  individuals,  by  preventing  them  the  use  of  their 
wharfs,  quays,  etc.,  is  an  avowed  intention  to  reduce  all 
America  to  a  state  of  slavery. 

"  3d.  It  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  nothing  will  be 
more  conducive  to  prevent  such  oppressi9ns  than  imme 
diately  to  stop  all  imports  from  Great  Britain,  and  at  a  ;3hort 
day  hereafter  to  be  fixed  to  stop  all  exports  to  Great  Britain 
and  the  West  Indies  until  there  is  a  total  repeal  of  not  only 
the  act  called  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  but  also  of  all  the  several 
acts  of  the  British  Parliament  laying  taxes  on  the  Americans 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue,  and  those  other  acts 
made  against  the  rights  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
on  account  of  their  virtuous  opposition  to  the  said  revenue 
acts." 

Prince  George  County  (Ta.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  general  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of 
Prince  George  County,  Virginia  (in  June,  1774),  the  follow 
ing  resolves  were  proposed  and  unanimously  agreed  to : 

* '  Resolved,  That  we  will  at  all  times,  whenever  we  are 
called  upon  for  that  purpose,  maintain  and  defend,  at  the 
expense  of  our  lives  and  fortunes,  his  Majesty's  right  and 
title  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  and  his  dominions  in 
America,  to  whose  royal  person  and  government  we  profess 
all  due  obedience  and  fidelity. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  right  to  impose  taxes  or  duties  to  be 
paid  by  the  inhabitants  within  this  dominion,  for  any  pur 
pose  whatever,  is  peculiar  and  essential  to  the  General  As 
sembly,  in  whom  the  legislative  authority  of  the  Colony  is 
vested. 

"  Resolved,  That  every  attempt  to  impose  such  taxes  or 
duties  by  any  other  authority  is  an  arbitrary  exertion  of 
power,  and  an  infringement  of  the  constitutional  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  Colony. 

"Resolved,  That  the  late  cruel,  unjust,  and  sanguinary 
acts  of  Parliament  to  be  executed  by  military  force  and 
ships  of  war  upon  our  sister  Colony  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  and  town  of  Boston  is  a  strong  evidence  of  the  corrupt 
influence  obtained  by  the  British  Ministry  in  Parliament, 


268  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

and  a  convincing  proof  of  their  fixed  intention  to  deprive 
the  Colonies  of  their  constitutional  rights  and  liberties. 

"Resolved,  That  the  cause  of  the  town  of  Boston  is  the 
common  cause  of  all  the  American  Colonies." 

James  City  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  of  James  City  County,  on 
the  first  of  July,  1774,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Isham  Allen,  in 
order  to  consult  with  their  late  representatives  what  meas 
ures  were  most  necessary  to  ward  off  the  impending  evils 
which  seem  to  threaten  all  British  America,  those  matters 
being  calmly  and  maturely  entered  into,  the  following  re 
solves  were  adopted : 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  not  import  any  article  whatever 
from  Great  Britain. 

'*  Resolved,  That  we  will  stop  all  exports  to  Great  Britain 
after  such  a  day  as  shall  be  appointed  by  the  general  meet 
ing  on  the  first  of  August  next. 

"Resolved,  That  a  subscription  paper  be  handed  about 
among  the  people  of  James  City,  to  raise  money,  corn, 
wheat,  or  any  other  commodity  which  may  be  most  agree 
able  to  the  subscribers,  for  the  relief  of  the  people  of  Boston." 

Culpepper  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of 
Culpepper  County,  in  Virginia,  assembled  on  due  notice  at 
the  Court-house  of  the  said  county  on  Thursday,  the  7th  of 
July,  1774,  to  consider  the  most  effectual  method  to  preserve 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  America, 

"  Henry  Pendleton,  Esq.,  Moderator, 

"Resolved,  That  we  will,  whenever  we  are  called  upon 
for  that  purpose,  maintain  and  defend  his  Majesty's  right 
and  title  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  and  all  other  his 
dominions  thereunto  belonging,  to  whose  royal  person  and 
government  we  profess  all  due  obedience  and  fidelity. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  right  to  impose  taxes  or  duties  to  be 
paid  by  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony,  for  any  purpose 
whatsoever,  is  peculiar  and  essential  to  the  general  Assem 
bly,  in  whom  the  legislative  authority  is  vested. 

"Resolved,  That  every  attempt  to  impose  taxes  or  duties 
by  any  other  authority  is  an  arbitrary  exertion  of  power 
and  an  infringement  of  the  constitutional  and  just  rights 
and  liberties  of  the  Colony,  and  that  we  will  at  all  times,  at 
the  risk  of  our  lives  and  fortunes,  oppose  any  act  imposing 
such  taxes  or  duties,  unless  we  are  legally  represented ;  and 
that  the  act  of  the  British  Parliament  imposing  a  duty  on 
tea  to  be  paid  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Colonies  upon  im 
portation  is  evidently  designed  to  fix  on  the  Americans 
those  chains  forged  for  them  by  a  corrupt  Ministry. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  \  269 

\ 

"Resolved,  That  the  late  cruel  and  unjust  acts  of  Parlia 
ment,  to  be  executed  by  force  upon  our  sister  Colony  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  and  town  of  Boston,  is  a  convincing 
proof  of  the  unjust  and  corrupt  influence  obtained  by  the 
British  Ministry  in  Parliament,  and  a  fixed  determination 
to  deprive  the  Colonies  of  their  constitutional  and  just  rights 
and  liberties. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  town  of  Boston  is  now  suffering  in 
the  common  cause  of  the  American  Colonies." 

Essex  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of 
Essex  County,  Virginia,  at  the  Court-house  thereof,  on  Satur 
day,  the  9th  of  July,  1774,  seriously  to  consider  the  present 
dangers  which  threaten  ruin  to  American  liberty, 

"Mr.  John  Upshaw,  Moderator, 

"  The  following  resolves  were  proposed  and  unanimously 
agreed  to : 

"  1st.  Resolved,  That  we  will  at  all  times  and  upon  all  oc 
casions  bear  true  and  faithful  allegiance  to  his  Majesty  King 
George  the  Third,  and  that  as  freemen  we  always  have  been 
and  ever  shall  be  willing  constitutionally  to  give  and  grant 
liberally  our  property  for  the  support  of  his  Crown  and  dig 
nity  and  the  preservation  of  on1"  present  state,  but  that  we 
can  never  consent  to  part  wit^  it  on  any  other  terms. 

"2d.  Resolved,  That  the  legislature  of  this  Colony  for  the 
purpose  of  internal  taxation  is  distinct  from  that  of  Great 
Britain,  formed  upon  the  principles  of  the  British  Constitu 
tion,  and  equal  in  all  respects  to"  the  purposes  of  legislation 
and  taxation  within  this  Colony. 

U4th.  Resolved,  That  the  town  of  Boston,  in  our  sister- 
Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  is  now  suffering  in  the  com 
mon  cause  of  North  America  for  their  just  opposition  to  such 
acts,  and  it  is  indispensably  necessary  that  all  the  Colonies 
should  firmly  unite  in  defence  of  our  common  rights. 

"  5th.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that 
an  agreement  to  stop  all  exports  to,  and  imports  from,  Great 
Britain  and  the  West  Indies,  firmly  entered  into  and  reli 
giously  complied  with,  will  at  all  times  prove  a  safe  and  in 
fallible  means  of  securing  us  against  the  evils  of  any  uncon 
stitutional  and  tyrannical  acts  of  Parliament,  and  may  be 
adopted  upon  the  principles  of  self-preservation,  the  great 
law  of  nature." 

Fauquier  County  (Va.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  of  the  county  of  Fauquier, 
in  Virginia,  on  the  9th  of  July,  1774,  at  the  Court-house  of 
the  said  county, 

"  Mr.  Wharton  Ransdell,  Moderator, 


270  THE  ETRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"  The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to: 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  an  undoubted  right  of  British  sub 
jects,  and  without  which  freedom  cannot  exist,  to  be  taxed 
only  by  their  own  free  consent,  either  personally  given  or 
by  their  representatives  legally  assembled. 

''Resolved,  That  as  the  British  subjects  in  America  are 
not,  and  from  their  situation  cannot  ever  be,  represented  in 
the  British  Parliament,  any  act  of  Parliament  laying  a  tax 
on  them  is  subversive  of  their  natural  rights  and  contrary 
to  the  first  principles  of  our  free  Constitution. 

"Resolved,  That  the  act  of  Parliament  laying  a  duty  on 
tea,  etc.,  exported  from  Great  Britain  to  these  Colonies,  for 
the  avowed  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America,  will,  if 
submitted  to,  fix  a  precedent  whereby  the  Parliamentary 
claim  of  taxing  America  may  be  established,  arbitrary  power 
introduced,  and  the  liberty  of  the  British  Colonies  laid  at 
the  feet  of  a  despotic  and  execrable  Ministry. 

"Resolved,  That  any  person,  who,  contrary  to  the  gen 
eral  sense  of  the  country  expressed  by  their  late  representa 
tives,  shall  purchase,  vend,  or  make  use  of  tea,  till  such  time 
as  the  actor  Parliament  laying  a  duty  on  that  article  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America  shall  be  repealed, 
shall  be  deemed  an  enemy  to  American  liberty  and  the  com 
mon  rights  of  mankind,  and  ought  to  be  publicly  stigmatized 
as  such." 

Nansemond  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of 
the  county  of  Nansemond,  on  the  llth  day  of  July,  1774,  the 
following  resolutions  were  proposed  and  unanimously  agreed 
to: 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  at  all  times,  whenever  we  are 
called  upon  for  that  purpose,  maintain  and  defend  at  the 
expense  of  our  lives  and  fortunes  his  Majesty's  right  and 
title  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  and  his  dominions  in 
America,  to  whose  royal  person  and  government  we  profess 
all  due  obedience  and  fidelity. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  right  to  impose  taxes  or  duties  to  be 
paid  by  the  inhabitants  within  this  Dominion  for  any  such 
purpose  whatsoever,  is  peculiar  and  essential  to  the  General 
Assembly,  in  whom  the  legislative  authority  of  the  Colony 
is  invested. 

"Resolved,  That  every  attempt  to  impose  such  taxes  or 
duties  by  any  other  authority  is  an  arbitrary  exertion  of 
power  and  an  infringement  of  the  constitutional  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  Colony. 

"Resolved,  That  to  impose  a  tax  or  duty  upon  tea  by  the 
British  Parliament,  in  which  the  Commons  of  the  North 
American  Colonies  can  have  no  representation,  to  be  paid 
upon  importation  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  Colonies,  is 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  271 

an  act  of  power  without  right,  is  subversive  of  the  liberties 
of  the  said  Colonies,  deprives  them  of  their  property  without 
their  consent,  and  thereby  reduces  them  to  a  state  of 
slavery. 

"Eesolved,  That  the  late  cruel,  unjust,  and  sanguinary 
acts  of  Parliament,  to  be  executed  by  military  force  and 
ships  of  war  upon  our  sister  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
and  town  of  Boston,  is  a  strong  evidence  of  the  corrupt  in 
fluence  obtained  by  the  British  Ministry  in  Parliament,  and 
a  convincing  proof  of  their  fixed  intention  to  deprive  the 
Colonies  of  their  constitutional  rights  and  liberties. 

"Eesolved,  That  the  cause  of  the  town  of  Boston  is  the 
common  cause  of  all  the  American  Colonies. 

"Eesolved,  That  a  general  association  between  all  the 
American  Colonies  not  to  import  from  Great  Britain  any 
commodity  whatsoever,  ought  to  be  entered  into  and  not 
dissolved  until  the  just  rights  of  the  said  Colonies  are  re 
stored  to  them,  and  the  cruel  acts  of  the  British  Parliament 
against  Massachusetts  Bay  and  town  of  Boston  are  re 
pealed." 

New-Kent  County  (Va.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the 
county  of  New  Kent,  at  the  Court-house  of  said  county,  on 
Tuesday,  the  12th  day  of  July,  1774: 

"  Eesolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  the  British  Colonies  in 
America  are  entitled  to  all  the  rights,  liberties,  and  privi 
leges  of  free-born  English  subjects. 

"Eesolved,  That  the  right  to  impose  taxes  or  duties,  to  be 
paid  by  the  inhabitants  of  this  Dominion,  for  any  purpose 
whatever,  is  peculiar  and  essential  to  the  General  Assembly, 
in  whom  the  legislative  authority  of  the  Colony  is  placed, 
and  that  taxation  and  representation  are  inseparable. 

"Eesolved,  That  trial  by  a  jury  of  the  vicinage  is  the 
glory  of  the  English  law,  and  the  best  security  for  the  life, 
liberty,  and  property  of  the  subject,  and  is  the  undoubted 
birthright  of  all  his  Majesty's  free-born  American  subjects. 

"Eesolved,  That  the  several  acts  and  resolutions  of  the 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain  made  during  his  present  Ma 
jesty's  reign,  imposing  taxes  on  the  inhabitants  of  America 
for  the  express  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue,  and  for  alter 
ing  the  nature  and  punishment  of  offences  committed  in 
America,  or  the  method  of  trial  of  such  offences,  are  uncon 
stitutional,  arbitrary,  and  unjust,  and  destructive  of  the 
rights  of  America ;  and  that  we  are  not  bound  to  yield 
obedience  to  any  such  acts. 

"Eesolved,  That  the  late  cruel,  unjust,  and  sanguinary 
acts  of  Parliament,  to  be  executed,  by  military  force  and  ships 
of  war,  upon  our  sister-Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and 
town  of  Boston,  is  a  strong  evidence  of  the  corrupt  influence 


272  THE  BIHTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

obtained  by  the  British  Ministry  in  Parliament,  and  a  con 
vincing  proof  of  their  fixed  intention  to  deprive  the  Colonies 
of  their  Constitutional  rights  and  liberties. 

"Resolved,  That  the  cause  of  the  town  of  Boston  is  the 
common  cause  of  all  American  Colonies. 

"Resolved,  That  we  do  heartily  approve  of  the  resolutions 
and  proceedings  of  our  several  late  Assemblies  for  asserting 
^and  supporting  the  just  rights  and  liberties  of  America,  from 
their  patriotic  resolves  in  1765  to  this  time. 

"Resolved,  That  the  most  effectual  method  of  opposing 
the  said  several  acts  of  Parliament  will  be  to  break  off  all 
commercial  intercourse  with  Great  Britain  until  the  said 
acts  shall  be  repealed." 

Chesterfield  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of 
the  county  of  Chesterfield,  at  the  Court-house  of  said  county, 
on  Thursday,  the  14th  of  July,  1774,  to  take  into  considera 
tion  the  present  very  alarming  situation  of  this  Colony, 

4 'The  Reverend  Archibald  McRobert  being  unanimously 
chosen  moderator, 

"4  Resolved,  That  the  sole  right  of  making  laws  for  the 
government  of  this  his  Majesty's  ancient  Colony  and 
dominion  of  Virginia,  and  for  raising  and  levying  taxes  on 
the  inhabitants  thereof,  ought  to  be  and  is  vested  in  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  said  Colony,  and  cannot  be  executed 
by  any  other  power  without  danger  to  our  liberties,  subject, 
nevertheless,  as  of  custom  has  been,  to  his  JMCajesty's  ap 
probation. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  every  other  of  his  Majesty's  dominions 
in  America  ought  to  be,  and  of  right  is,  entitled  to  the  same 
privileges  as  this  Colony. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  act  of  the  British  Parliament  for  de 
priving  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston,  in  our  sister- 
Colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  of  their  lawful  trade,  as 
also  the  bills  brought  into  the  House  of  Commons  of  Great 
Britain,  one  of  which  bills  is  entitled  ' '  A  bill  for  the  im 
partial  administration  of  justice  in  the  cases  of  persons 
questioned  for  any  act  done  by  them  in  the  execution  of  the 
law,  or  for  the  suppression  of  riots  or  tumults  in  the  Province 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England,"  are  unjust, 
arbitrary,  and  unconstitutional ;  and  although  levelled  par 
ticularly  against  one  of  our  first  Colonies,  yet  ought  to  be 
resented  with  the  same  indignation  by  this,  and  every 
Colony,  as  if  all  of  them  were  included  in  the  said  act  and 
bills.'" 

Gloucester  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  general  and  full  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
county  of  Gloucester,  at  the  Court,  house  of  the  said  county, 
after  due  notice,  on  Thursday,  July  14,  1774, 


TEE  BIRTH  OF  TEE  REPUBLIC.  .     273 

"James  Hubbard,  Esq.,  judge  of  the  said  county  court, 
being  unanimously  chosen  moderator, 

"  They  came  to  the  following  resolves: 

"  'Resolved,  That  we  will  ever  maintain  and  defend  his 
Majesty's  right  and  title  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  and 
his  dominions  in  America,  to  whose  royal  person  we  profess 
the  firmest  attachment. 

* ' '  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  tax 
ation  and  representation  are  inseparable ;  and  as  we  are  not, 
and,  from  the  nature  of  things,  cannot  be,  represented  in  the 
British  Parliament,  every  attempt  of  that  body  to  impose 
internal  taxes  on  America  is  arbitrary,  unconstitutional,  and 
oppressive. 

"'Resolved,  That  the  act  for  blocking  up  the  harbor  of 
Boston,  and  other  purposes  therein  mentioned,  is  cruel  and 
unjust,  and  a  convincing  proof  of  the  fixed  intention  of  Par 
liament  to  deprive  America  of  their  Constitutional  rights 
and  liberties. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  cause  of  Boston  is  the  common  cause 
of  all  America,  and  that  we  will  firmly  unite  with  the  other 
counties  in  this  Colony,  and  the  other  Colonies  on  this  con 
tinent,  in  every  measure  that  may  be  thought  necessary  on 
this  alarming  occasion. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  do  most  heartily  concur  with  our  late 
representatives  in  their  resolve  of  the  total  disuse  of  tea, 
and  do  further  resolve  against  the  use  of  any  East  India 
commodity  whatsoever,  except  saltpetre.' " 

Caroline  County  (Va.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  general  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants 
of  the  county  of  Caroline,  at  the  Court-house,  on  Thursday, 
the  14th  day  of  July,  1774,  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  de 
liberating  and  giving  their  sentiments  upon  the  present  state 
of  affairs  in  America,  and  what  ought  to  be  done  at  this  most 
alarming  crisis,  the  following  points  were  agitated  and* 
agreed  to  as  the  opinion  of  this  county : 

"  '  That  for  Americans  to  be  exempted  from  every  kind  of 
taxation  except  by  the  consent  of  their  own  representatives 
in  their  several  Provincial  Assemblies,  to  be  heard  in  their 
defence  when  accused  of  crimes  and  tried  by  their  peers,  are 
rights  they  derive  from  natural  justice,  the  British  Constitu 
tion  (to  which  they  are  equally  entitled  with  their  fellow- 
subjects  in  Great  Britain),  and  from  constant  usage,  so  long 
as  the  true  principles  of  the  Constitution  have  been  suffered 
to  direct  the  public  councils. 

"  '  That  tea,  being  the  subject  of  the  tax  complained  of,  and 
the  East  India  Company  having  acted  ungenerously  in  send 
ing  great  quantities  of  it  to  America  to  fix  the  precedent  of 
taxation,  though  desired  to  forbear,  we  most  cordially  con 
cur  with  the  late  representatives  of  this  Colony  to  disuse 


274  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

tea,  and  not  to  purchase  any  East  India  commodities  from 
henceforth,  until  the  just  rights  of  America  be  restored.' " 

Henrico  County  (Fa.)  Instructions  to  their  Delegates. 

4 'At  a  meeting  of  the  loyal  and  patriotic  people  of  the 
county  of  Henrico,  in  Virginia,  at  the  Court-house  on  the 
15th  of  July,  1774,  the  following  address  to  their  late  worthy 
representatives  was  agreed  on  and  signed  by  a  great  number 
of  freeholders : 
"  '  To  Richard  Adams  and  Samite/  Duval,  Esqrs. : 

"  '  We,  the  subscribers,  freeholders  of  the  county  of  Hen 
rico,  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  deliberating  on  the  present 
posture  of  public  affairs,  return  you  our  thanks  for  the  part 
you  acted  in  the  late  Assembly  as  our  Burgesses. 

"  *  When  we  reflect  on  the  alarming  and  critical  situation  of 
things  respecting  the  mother-country,  our  minds  are  filled 
with  the  most  anxious  concern. 

"  '  The  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  made  for  punishing 
the  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts  Bay  are  repugnant  to  the 
first  principles  of  justice,  and,  if  they  are  suffered  to  have  a 
full  operation,  will  not  only  crush  our  sister-Colony,  and  in 
volve  the  guilty  and  the  innocent  in  one  common  ruin,  but 
will  stand  as  a  fatal  precedent  to  future  times,  for  adopting 
the  same  fatal  measures  towards  this  and  every  other  Brit 
ish  Colony.  We  have  therefore  passed  this  determination, 
and  shall  conduct  ourselves  conformably,  that  the  cause  of 
the  Colon v  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  general,  and  the  town 
of  Boston  in  particular,  is  the  cause  of  this  and  every  Colony 
in  North  America. 

"  '  We  hope,  gentlemen,  that  the  exceeding  importance  of 
the  present  crisis  will  plead  our  excuse  for  giving  you  our 
sentiments  touching  that  conduct  which  we  wish  you  to 
observe  in  the  ensuing  Congress  on  the  first  day  of  August 
next,  at  Williamsburg,  to  which  we  depute  you  to  act  on 
our  behalf.'" 

Middlesex  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  After  the  freeholders  of  the  county  of  Middlesex  had  pro 
ceeded  in  the  most  decent  and  orderly  manner  to  the  elec 
tion  of  representatives  for  the  county  on  the  15th  of  July 
(1774),  they  were  summoned  to  meet  at  the  Court-house,  to 
take  into  their  consideration  the  present  state  of  the  Col 
ony,  and  America  in  general;  and  upon  mature  deliberation, 
many  of  the  most  respectable  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of 
the  county  being  present,  they  entered  into  the  following 
resolutions : 

' '  '  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  all 
allegiance  is  due  to  the  person  and  character  of  the  King  of 
Great  Britain;  and  that  we  acknowledge  a  Constitutional 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  275 

dependence  on  the  Parliament,  conceiving  it  not  incompati 
ble  with  the  condition  of  Colonists  to  submit  to  commercial 
regulations  in  consequence  of  the  protection  that  is  given  to 
our  trade  by  the  superintendence  of  the  mother-country ; 
but  we  apprehend  there  is  a  clear  distinction  between  regu 
lations  of  trade  and  taxation,  and  in  no  degree  admit  the 
latter  under  the  colourable  denomination  of  the  former,  well 
knowing  that  the  nature  of  things  is  not  alterable  by  the 
changes  of  terms. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  representation  and  taxation  are  insepar 
ably  connected  by  the  essential  principles  of  the  British  Con 
stitution  ;  and  that  every  attempt  of  superior  power  to  levy 
money  on  the  British  Americans,  otherwise  than  by  the  con 
sent  of  their  representatives  delivered  in  Assembly,  is  an  in 
fraction  of  that  Constitution,  a  violation  of  the  rights,  of 
freemen,  and  a  subversion  of  property. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  act  imposing  a  duty  on  tea,  for  the 
avowed  purpose  of  a  revenue,  is  a  tax;  and  that  every  oppo 
sition  should  be  expressed  that  may  move  to  the  repeal  of 
the  said  act,  or  that  may  render  its  operation  inefficacious. 

"  *  Resolved,  That  the  late  act  of  Parliament  suspending 
the  trade  and  shutting  up  the  port  of  the  town  of  Boston  is 
an  alarming  circumstance  to  the  Colonies  in  general,  inas 
much  as  it  marks  out  a  settled  plan  in  the  British  Parlia 
ment  to  enforce  submission  to  their  power  of  taxation.' " 

•';>'.    Dinwiddie  County  (Va.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  of 
Dinwiddie,  at  the  Court-house,  on  Friday,  the  15th  of  July, 
1774: 

"  *  It  was  declared,,  as  the  result  of  our  opinion  upon  these 
violent  measures,  that  we  do  protest  against  every  law  or 
act  of  the  British  legislature  that  shall  authorize  the  impo 
sition  of  taxes  on  the  Americans  without  their  consent, 
which  cannot  be  had  in  Parliament,  as  they  have  no  repre 
sentation,  nor  ought  to  have,  in  that  body,  from  local  cir- 
cumstsnces  and  other  considerations ;  and  because  it  is  the 
proper,  exclusive,  and  indefeasible  right  of  every  free  state, 
especially  under  the  British  form  of  government,  to  be 
taxed  only  by  themselves  or  their  representatives. 

4 '  *  And  whereas,  A  convention  of  the  late  representatives  of 
this  Colony  was  judged  expedient,  and  was  appointed  after 
their  dissolution  to  be  held  the  first  day  of  August  next  at 
Williamsburg,  there  to  consult  upon  the  most  plausible 
means  of  avoiding  the  dangerous  precedents  of  acts  of  pow 
er  now  intended  to  be  established  against  us ; — to  promote 
on  our  part  this  laudable  design,  we  do  appoint  our  late  rep 
resentatives,  Robert  Boiling  and  John  Banister,  Esquires, 
deputies  to  act  for  us  on  this  important  occasion,  recom 
mending  it  to  them  to  concert  with  the  deputies  from  the 


276  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

other  counties  a  firm  and  prudent  plan  of  opposition  to 
every  invasion  of  our  rights,  and  particularly  to  those  acts 
of  Parliament  we  have  pointed  out.  Confiding  in  their  vigi- 
lence  and  attention,  we  wish  them,  in  their  endeavors,  the 
success  that  so  good  a  cause  merits.'  " 

Surry  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

* '  At  a  meeting  of  a  respectable  bodj  of  the  freeholders  and 
other  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Surry,  on  due  notice,  at 
the  Court-house  of  the  said  county,  the  16th  day  of  July, 
1774, 

"  Allen  Cocke,  Esqur.,  moderator, 

"  The  proceedings  and  regulations  of  the  late  members  of 
the  House  of  Burgesses,  since  their  dissolution,  respecting 
the  alarming  situation  of  North  America,  were  seriously  de 
liberated  upon,  and  the  following  resolves  unanimously 
agreed  to : 

"  '1st.  Resolved,  That  we  acknowledge  all  due  obedience 
to  his  present  Majesty,  and  will  defend  him  with  our  lives 
and  fortunes. 

" '  2d.  Resolved,  That  as  British  subjects  who  know  the  in 
valuable  blessings  of  their  birthright,  we  will  not  submit  to 
the  imposition  of  any  taxes  or  duties  to  be  paid  by  the  in 
habitants  within  this  dominion  by  any  other  power  than  the 
General  Assembly,  duly  elected;  and  that  in  them,  and 
them  only,  is  the  Constitutional  right  of  taxation,  vested. 

"  *  3d.  Resolved,  That  we  will  cheerfuly  join  with  our  suf 
fering  brethren  of  America  in  the  firmest  bonds  of  union 
against  exporting  or  importing  any  commodities  to  or  from 
Great  Britain  till  our  just  and  legal  rights  are  restored. 

"  '  4th.  Resolved,  That  the  cause  of  the  town  of  Boston  is 
the  common  cause  of  all  British  America.'  " 

York  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  On  Monday,  the  18th  of  July  (1774),  the  freeholders  and 
other  inhabitants  of  York  county,  Virginia,  met,  according 
to  public  notice,  at  the  Court-house,  in  York,  to  consider 
what  was  to  be  done  in  the  present  distressed  and  alarming 
situation  of  affairs  throughout  the  British  Colonies  in 
America. 

"  Thomas  Nelson,  Junr.,  Esquire,  moderator. 

"  '  It  was  then  unanimously  resolved,  That  as  the  constitu 
tional  Assemblies  of  Virginia  have  been  prevented  from  ex 
ercising  their  right  of  providing  for  the  security  of  the  lib 
erties  of  the  people,  that  right  again  reverts  to  the  people  as 
the  fountain  from  whence  all  power  and  legislation  flow;  a 
right  coeval  with  human  nature,  and  which  they  claim  from 
the  eternal  and  immutable  laws  of  nature's  God. 

"  '  Resolved  alsor  That  Dudley  Digges  and  Thomas  Nelson, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  Tfffl  REPUBLIC.  277 

Jr.,  Esqrs.,  do  attend  the  city  of  Williamsburg  on  the  first 
day  of  August  next,  in  a  general  convention  from  the  other 
counties  in  Virginia,  there  to  exert  their  utmost  abilities  to 
put  a  stop  to  that  growing  system  of  Ministerial  despotism 
which  has  so  long  threatened  the  destruction  of  America. 
And  that  you,  our  Delegates,  may  be  made  acquainted  with 
the  sentiments  of  the  people  of  this  county,  it  is  their  opin 
ion  that  you  proceed  to  choose  proper  persons  to  represent 
the  Colony  of  Virginia  in  a  general  Congress  of  America,  to 
meet  at  such  time  and  place  as  may  be  hereafter  agreed  on. 

"  'And,  further,  the  people  of  this  county  are  of  opinion 
that  the  act  of  the  British  Parliament  laying  a  duty  on  tea 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  to  be  collected  in  Amer- 
ca,  without  her  consent,  is  an  illegal  tax. 

"  'That  the  act  which  blocks  up  the  port  of  Boston  destroys 
her  trade  and  subjects  her  inhabitants  to  the  worst  of  in 
conveniences  and  hardships,  is  oppressive,  and  unconstitu 
tional;— that  the  people  of  Boston  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  Parliament  by  a  just  defence  of  their  liberties  and  prop 
erties  ;  and  that  the  cause  for  which  they  suffer  is  the  gen 
eral  cause  of  every  British  Colony  in  America. 

"'That  the  bill  commonly  called  the  Murdering  Bill,  if 
passed  into  an  act,  is  not  only  unconstitutional,  but  shocking 
to  human  nature ;  that  its  evident  design  is  to  privilege  the 
soldiers  to  commit,  with  impunity,  the  most  cruel  outrages 
even  against  the  lives  of  Americans,  whilst  it  cuts  off  from 
an  accused  American  every  hope  of  being  acquitted. 

"  *  That  the  most  effectual  means  of  obtaining  a  speedy  re 
dress  of  American  grievances  is  to  put  a  stop  to  imports 
from  Great  Britain,  with  as  few  exceptions  as  possible,  until 
the  said  oppressive  acts  be  repealed  and  American  rights 
established ;  and  that  what  relates  to  exports  be  left  to  the 
determination  of  the  convention  in  August.'  " 

Fairfax  County  ("Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhab 
itants  of  the  county  of  Fairfax,  as  the  Court-house,  in  the 
town  of  Alexandria,  on  Monday,  the  IStfc.  day  of  July,  1774, 

'"George  Washington,  Esq.,  chairman  ; 

"  Robert  Harrison,  Gentleman,  clerk, — 

"  'Resolved,  That  tin's  Colony  and  dominion  of  Virginia 
cannot  be  considered  as  a  conquered  country,  and,  if  it  was, 
that  the  present  inhabitants  are  the  descendents,  not  of  the 
conquered,  but  of  the  conquerors. 

"  k  That  the  same  was  not  settled  at  the  national  expense  of 
England,  but  at  the  private  expense  of  the  adventurers,  pur 
ancestors,  by  solemn  compact  with,  and  under  the  auspices 
and  protection  of,  the  British  Crown,  upon  which  we  are  in 
every  respect  as  dependent  as  the  people  of  Great  Britain, 
and  in  the  same  manner  subject  to  all  his  Majesty's  just,  Je- 


278  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

gal,  and  constitutional  prerogatives :  that  our  ancestors,  when 
they  left  their  native  land  and  settled  in  America,  brought 
with  them,  even  if  the  same  had  not  been  confirmed  by  char 
ters,  the  civil  Constitution  and  form  of  government  of  the 
country  they  came  from,  and  were,  by  the  laws  of  Nature 
and  Nations,  entitled  to  all  its  privileges,  immunities,  and 
advantages  which  have  descended  to  us,  their  posterity,  and 
ought  of  right  to  be  as  fully  enjoyed  as  if  we  had  still  con 
tinued  within  the  realm  of  England. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  most  important  and  valuable  part  of 
the  British  Constitution,  upon  which  its  very  existence  de 
pends,  is  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  people's  being  gov 
erned  by  no  laws  to  which  they  have  not  given  their  consent 
by  representatives  freely  chosen  by  themselves,  who  are 
affected  by  the  laws  they  enact  equally  with  their  constit 
uents,  to  whom  they  are  accountable  and  whose  burthens 
they  share,  in  which  consists  the  safety  and  happiness  of  the 
community';  for  if  this  part  of  the  Constitution  was  taken 
away  or  materially  altered,  the  government  must  degenerate 
either  into  an  absolute  despotic  monarchy  or  a  tyrannical 
aristocracy,  and  the  freedom  of  the  people  be  annihilated. 

"  *  Resolved,  That  taxation  and  representation  are,  in  their 
nature,  inseparable  ;  that  the  right  of  withholding  or  of 
giving  and  granting  their  own  money  is  the  only  effectual 
security  to  a  free  people  against  the  encroachments  of  des 
potism  and  tyranny  ;  and  whenever  they  yield  the  one,  they 
must  quickly  fall  a  prey  to  the  other. 

" 4  Resolved,  That  there  is  a  premeditated  design  and  system 
formed  and  pursued  by  the  British  Ministry  to  introduce  an 
arbitrary  government  into  his  Majesty's  American  domin 
ions  ;  to  which  end  they  are  artfully  prejudicing  our  sover 
eign  and  inflaming  the  minds  of  our  fellow-subjects  in  Great 
Britain  by  propagating  the  most  malevolent  falsehoods,  par 
ticularly  that  there  is  an  intention  in  the  American  Colonies 
to  set  up  for  independent  states,  endeavoring  at  the  same 
time— by  various  acts  of  violence  and  oppression,  by  sudden 
and  repeated  dissolutions  of  our  assemblies,  whenever  they 
presume  to  examine  the  illegality  of  Ministerial  mandates 
or  deliberate  on  the  violated  rights  of  their  constituents, 
and  by  breaking  in  upon  the  American  charters — to  reduce 
us  to  a  state  of  desperation,  and  dissolve  the  original  com 
pact  by  which  our  ancestors  bound  themselves  and  their 
posterity  to  remain  dependent  upon  the  Crown,  which 
measures,  unless  effectually  counteracted,  will  end  in  the  ruin 
of  both  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies. 

"  'Resolved,  That  we  cordially  join  with  our  friends  and 
brethren  of  this  and  the  other  Colonies  in  such  measures  as 
shall  be  judged  most  effectual  for  procuring  a  redress  of  our 
grievances  ;  and  that  upon  obtaining  such  redress,  if  the 
destruction  of  the  tea  at  Boston  be  regarded  as  an  invasion 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

of  private  property,  we  shall  be  willing  to  contribute  towards 
paying  the  East  India  Company  the  value.  But  as  we  con 
sider  the  said  company  as  the  tools  and  implements  of  op 
pression  in  the  hands  of  government,  and  the  cause  of  the 
present  distress,  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the 
people  of  these  Colonies  should  forbear  any  further  dealings 
with  them  by  refusing  to  purchase  their  merchandise  until 
that  peace,  safety,  and  good  order  which  they  have  dis 
turbed  be  perfectly  restored  ;  and  that  all  tea  now  in  this 
Colony,  or  which  shall  be  imported  into  it,  shipped  before  the 
first  day  of  September  next,shouid  be  deposited  in  some  store 
house  to  be  appointed  by  the  respective  committees  of  each 
county,  until  a  sufficient  sum  or  money  be  raised  by  sub 
scription  to  reimburse  the  owners  the  value,  and  then  to  be 
publicly  burnt  and  destroyed  ;  and  if  the  same  is  not  paid 
for  and  destroyed  as  aforesaid,  that  it  remain  in  the  custody 
of  the  said  committees,  at  the  risk  of  the  owners,  until  the 
act  of  Parliament  imposing  a  duty  upon  tea,  for  raising  a 
revenue  in  America,  be  repealed,  and  immediately  after 
wards  be  delivered  unto  the  several  proprietors  thereof,  their 
agents  or  attorneys. 

"  *  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting, if  Amer 
ican  grievances  be  not  redressed  before  the  first  day  of  Nov 
ember,  1775,  that  all  exports  of  produce  from  the  several 
Colonies  to  Great  Britain  should  cease  :  and  to  carry  the 
said  resolution  into  execution  more  effectually,  that  we  will 
not  plant  or  cultivate  any  tobacco  after  the  crop  now  grow 
ing,  provided  the  same  measure  shall  be  adopted  by  the 
other  Colonies  on  this  continent,  as  well  those  who  have 
heretofore  made  tobacco,  as  those  who  have  not. 

' ' '  And  it  is  our  opinion  also,  if  the  Congress  of  deputies  from 
the  several  Colonies  shall  adopt  the  measure  of  non-exporta 
tion  to  Great  Britain,  as  the  people  will  be  thereby  disabled 
from  paying  their  debts,  that  no  judgments  should  be  ren 
dered  by  the  courts  in  the  said  Colonies  for  any  debt  after 
information  of  the  said  measures  being  determined  upon. 

"  'Resolved,  That  George  Washington,  Esq.,  and  Charles 
Broadwater,  Gentleman,  lately  elected  our  representatives 
to  serve  in  the  General  Assembly,  attend  the  convention  at 
William  sburg  on  the  first  day  of  August  next,  and  present 
these  resolves  as  the  sense  of  the  people  of  this  county  upon 
the  measures  proper  to  be  taken  in  the  present  alarming  and 
dangerous  situation  in  America.' " 

Stafford  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

u  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of 
the  county  of  Stafford,  July,  1774,  the  following  address  was 
agreed  to  be  presented  : 


280  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"  To  John  Alexander  and   Charles   Carter,  EsqrK.  : 

"GENTLEMEN  :  You  are  chosen  to  convey  the  sentiments 
of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  this  county,  to  a  meet 
ing  of  the  agents  from  every  county  in  the  Colony,  to  be 
held  at  William  sburg  on  the  1st  day  of  August.  Permit  us 
on  this  occasion  to  recommend  to  you  a  conduct  decent, 
though  spirited,  animated,  yet  prudent. 

"Resolved,  That  an  exemption  from  Parliamentary  taxa 
tion  is  the  clear  and  undoubted  right  of  the  American  Col 
onies  ;  that  this  right  hath  been  uniformly  claimed  and 
allowed  by  the  King  and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  from 
the  first  settlement  of  America,  and  that  an  attempt  to  de 
prive  them  of  this  right  is  both  contrary  to  the  laws  and 
Constitution  of  England,  and  would  reduce  the  Americans  to 
a  slavery  the  most  deplorable  and  ignominious. 

"  Resolved,  That  to  surrender  the  inestimable  and  unques 
tioned  right,  which  the  people  of  America  have,  to  be  taxed 
by  their  representatives  only,  would  be  a  total  departure  from 
the  dignity  of  human  nature,  and  would  argue  such  a  base 
ness  or  soul  as  must  render  them  unworthy  of  the  name  of 
British  subjects. 

"Resolved,  That  every  encroachment  made  by  the  British 
Parliament  on  the  rights  of  any  one  of  his  Majesty's  Colonies 
or  plantations  in  America  ought  to  be  looked  upon  as  an 
infringement  upon  the  just  rights  and  inherent  privileges  of 
the  whole. 

"Resolved,  That  the  only  sure  and  effectual  measure  to 
preserve  America  and  disarm  the  hand  of  oppression  will 
be  to  put  an  entire  and  immediate  stop  to  all  intercourse  of 
trade  with  Great  Britain  and  the  West  Indies,  and  also  to 
the  exportation  of  wheat,  flour,  provisions,  and  lumber  to  any 
part  of  Europe." 

Elizabeth  City  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of 
the  county  of  Elizabeth  City,  and  town  of  Hampton,  as 
sembled  at  the  Court-house,  the  25th  day  of  July,  1774,  to 
consider  of  instructions  to  our  late  members,  or  to  those 
persons  who  shall  be  chosen  our  representatives  at  the  ensu 
ing  election  ; 

"Henry  King,  Esq.,  chosen  moderator; 

"  Mr.  Robert  Bright,  clerk,— 

"The  following  resolves  were  agreed  to  : 

"  *  1st.  That  the  people  of  this  county  and  town  are  strongly 
attached,  from  principles  and  education,  to  his  present  Ma 
jesty,  King  George  the  Third,  and  his  family ;  and  they  will 
with  their  lives  and  fortunes  stand  by  and  defend  his  sacred 
person,  Crown,  and  dignity. 

"  *  Resolved,  That  the  representatives  of  this  Colony  have, 


THE  BIHTII  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  281 

and  ever  ought  to  have,  the  sole  right  of  taxing  the  inhabi 
tants  of  this  Colony ;  and  that  the  assuming  of  such  a  power 
by  the  present  or  any  other  Parliament  of  Great  Britain 
should  ever  be  considered  as  a  strong  proof  of  that  despotic 
tyranny  which  89  strongly  marks  the  present  administra 
tion,  and  which  dictated  those  late  cruel  and  oppressive  acts 
depriving  the  good  people  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  of  their 
dearest  and  most  invaluable  rights. 

"'Resolved,  That  if  a  non-importation  and  -exportation 
agreement  should  be  thought  necessary,  that  our  members 
be  directed  to  agree  thereto. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting  that  a  non 
importation  and  -exportation  agreement  is  necessary. 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  any 
merchant  or  dealer  who  advances  the  price  of  his  goods 
upon  a  non-importation  agreement  ought  to  be  deemed  an 
enemy  to  his  country ;  and  we  do  most  solemnly  promise  to 
consider  him  as  such,  and  to  withhold  alUcommercial  inter 
course  with  him. 

"Resolved,  That  this  meeting  highly  approve  of  the  glow 
ing  zeal  of  the  sister-Colonies  upon  this  trying  occasion,  and 
heartily  sympathize  with  their  persecuted  brethren  and  fel 
low-subjects,  the  people  of  Boston. 

"Resolved,  That  a  subscription  for  the  relief  of  the  un 
happy  poor  of  Boston  ought  to  be  encouraged  by  all  char 
itable  and  humane  people,  and  that  the  moderator  be  di 
rected  to  solicit  contributions  for  that  purpose." 

Albemarle  County  (Va.}  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  of  the  county  of  Albe 
marle,  assembled  in  their  collective  body  at  the  Court-house 
of  the  said  county  on  the  26th  of  July,  1774 : 

"  *  Resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  Colonies  of 
British  America  are  subject  to  the  laws  which  they  adopted 
at  their  first  settlement,  and  to  such  others  as  have  since 
been  made  by  their  respective  legislatures,  duly  constituted 
and  appointed  with  their  own  consent.  That  no  other  legis 
lature  whatever  can  rightfully  exercise  authority  over  them ; 
and  that  these  privileges  they  hold  as  the- common  rights  of 
mankind,  confirmed  by  the  political  constitutions  they  have 
respectively  assumed,  and  also  by  several  charters  of  com 
pact  from  the  Crown. 

' '  Resolved,  That  these  their  natural  and  legal  rights  have 
in  frequent  instances  been  invaded  by  the  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain,  and  particularly  were  they  so  by  an  act  lately 
passed  to  take  away  the  trade  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town 
of  Boston,  in  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay;  that  all 
such  assumptions  of  unlawful  power  are  dangerous  to  the 
rights  of  the  British  empire  in  general,  and  should  be  con 
sidered  as  its  common  cause;  and  that^we  will  ever  be  ready 


282  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

to  join  with  our  fellow-subjects  in  every  part  of  the  same  in 
executing  all  those  rightful  powers  which  God  has  given  us 
for  the  re-establishing  and  guaranteeing  such  their  Constitu 
tion  and  rights  when,  where,  and  by  whomsoever  invaded. 
"  '  It  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the  most  eligible 
means  of  effecting  these  purposes  will  be  to  put  an  imme 
diate  stop  to  all  imports  from  Great  Britain  (cotton,  osna- 
brigs,  striped  duffil,  medicines,  gunpowder,  lead,  books,  and 
printed  papers,  the  necessary  tools  and  implements  for  the 
handicraft  arts  and  manufactures  excepted  for  a  limited 
term)  and  to  all  exports  thereto  after  the  1st  day  of  October, 
which  shall  be  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1775;  and  imme 
diately  to  discontinue  all  commercial  intercourse  with  every 
part  of  the  British  empire  which,  shall  not  in  like  manner 
break  off  their  commerce  with  Great  Britain.  It  is  the 
opinion  of  this  meeting  that  we  immediately  cease  to  import 
all  commodities  from  every  part  of  the  world  which  are  sub 
jected  by  the  British  Parliament  to  the  payment  of  duties 
in  America.' " 

AccomacJc  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  a  very  respectable  body  of  the  freehold 
ers  and  other  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Accomack,  at  the 
Court-house,  July  27,  1774, 

"  James  Henry,  Esq.,  in  the  chair, 

"The  meeting,  taking  into  their  serious  consideration  the 
present  critical  and  alarming  condition  of  this  country  re 
specting  her  present  disputes  with  Great  Britain,  do  unani 
mously  resolve  as  follows : 

"  '  1st.  That  we  do  owe  and  will  pay  due  allegiance  to  his 
Majesty  King  George  the  Third. 

"  I2d.  That  all  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  America  are  by 
birthright  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  immunities  of  Brit 
ish-born  subjects,  one  of  which,  and  of  the  greatest  import 
ance,  is  that  no  tax,  aid,  tallage,  or  other  imposition  shall 
be  laid  upon  them  but  by  their  own  consent  by  their  repre 
sentatives. 

"  '  3d.  That  the  town  of  Boston  in  our  sister-Colony  is  now 
suffering  in  the  common  cause  of  American  liberty. 

"  '4th.  That  the  powers  claimed  by  the  British  Parliament, 
and  now  carrying  into  execution  against  the  town  of  Boston, 
are  fundamentally  wrong,  and  cannot  be  admitted  without 
the  utter  destruction  of  American  liberty,  and  are  intended 
to  operate  equally  against  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
other  Colonies. 

"'5th.  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  county,  confiding  in 
the  prudence  and  abilit?^  of  their  representatives  who  are  to 
meet  their  brethren  at  Williamsburg  on  the  1st  day  of  August 
next,  will  cheerfully  submit  to  any  measures  which  may  be 
concluded  upon  at  the  said  general  meeting,  as  best  to  be 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  283 

adopted  for  restoring  harmony  between  the  mother-country 
and  her  Colonies. 

"  *  Ordered,  That  these  resolves  be  forthwith  printed.' 

"JOHN  POWELL,  Clerk." 

Princess  Anne  County  (Va.)  Resolutions. 

11  At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of 
the  county  of  Princess  Anne,  on  due  notice  given  by  one  of 
the  late  representatives,  held  at  the  Court-house  of  the  said 
county  on  Wednesday,  the  27th  day  of  July,  1774,  and  they, 
after  choosing, 

"Anthony  Lawson,  Esq.,  moderator,  came  to  the  follow 
ing  resolutions : 

'  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  it  is 
an  absolute  right,  inherent  in  every  British  American  sub 
ject,  to  have  and  enjoy  such  freedoms  and  privileges  as  be 
long  to  the  free  people  of  England ;  and  that  he  cannot  be 
taxed  but  by  his  own  consent  or  representative. 

"  'Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that 
every  attempt  to  impose  taxes  by  any  other  authority  is  a 
tyrannical  exertion  of  power  and  a  violation  of  the  Constitu 
tional  and  just  rights  and  liberties  of  the  subject;  and  that 
the  acts  for  blocking  up  the  harbor  of  Boston,  for  altering 
the  chartered  Constitution  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and 
for  the  suppression  of  riots  and  tumults  are  cruel  and  op 
pressive  invasions  of  the  natural  rights  of  the  people  of  the 
said  Province,  as  men,  and  of  their  Constitutional  rights  as 
English  subjects. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  town  of  Boston  and  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  are  now  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of 
America,  as  the  said  acts  would  lay  a  foundation  for  the 
utter  destruction  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  subjects 
of  British  America. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  our  burgesses  be  hereby  instructed  to 
use  their  utmost  endeavors  at  the  ensuing  Congress  at  Wil- 
liamsburg  to  procure  a  general  association  for  stopping  all 
importation  from  and  exportation  to  Great  Britain,  except 
such  articles  as  shall  there  be  agreed  upon,  as  the  most 
effectual  means  to  obtain  redress ;  the  non-importation  and 
non-exportation  to  take  place  on  such  future  day  as  may  be 
agreed  on  by  the  general  Congress  of  Deputies  from  the  sev 
eral  Colonies. 

"'Resolved,  That  our  burgesses  be  instructed  to  vote 
against  every  motion  or  proposal  for  clogging  the  usual  im 
ports  from  and  exports  to  the  West  Indies. 

"  'Resolved,  That  our  burgesses  be  instructed  to  oppose 
the  importation  of  slaves  and  convicts  as  injurious  to  this 
Colony,  by  preventing  the  population  of  it  by  freemen  and 
useful  manufacturers.' " 


284  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Buckingham  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of 
the  county  of  Buckingham,  at  the  Court-house,  the  28th  of 
July,  1774,  they  took  under  their  consideration  the  truly 
alarming  state  of  the  several  British  Colonies  from  sundry 
acts  of  Parliament,  which,  if  carried  into  execution,  must 
reduce  the  whole  to  an  abject  state  of  slavery ;  at  which  time 
they  came  to  the  following  resolutions: 

4 'Resolved,  That  we  will,  at  the  risk  of  our  lives  and 
fortunes,  defend  his  Majesty's  right  and  title  to  the  Crown 
of  Great  Britain  and  his  American  dominions,  against  all 
and  every  power  whatsoever ;  and  that  we  do  acknowledge 
and  profess  all  due  obedience  to  him. 

4 'Resolved,  That  we  will  not  pay  any  tax  that  is  or  may 
be  laid  by  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  a  revenue  in  America ;  our  own  legislature,  with 
the  consent  of  his  Majesty,  being  one  legally  vested  with  a 
power  of  laying  taxes  on  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony. 

"Resolved,  That  the  act  of  Parliament  for  blocking  up  the 
harbor  of  Boston ;  also  one  other  act  for  carrying  persons  to 
Great  Britain  or  elsewhere  to  be  tried  for  offences ;  as  also 
the  act  for  depriving  our  sister-Colony  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  of  their  Charter— are  unjust,  arbitrary,  and  unconstitu 
tional  ;  and  that  we  consider  an  attack  on  the  liberties  of 
one  of  our  sister-Colonies  as  an  attack  on  the  whole  of  Brit 
ish  America." 

Augusta  County  (Fa.)  Resolutions 

"  of  February  1775. 

"After  due  notice  given  to  the  freeholders  of  Augusta 
county,  to  meet  in  Staunton  for  the  purpose  of  electing 
Delegates  to  represent  them  in  Colony  convention  at  the 
town  of  Richmond  on  the  20th  day  of  March  (1775),  the  free 
holders  of  said  county  thought  proper  to  refer  the  choice  of 
their  Delegates  to  the  judgment  of  the  committee,  who,  thus 
authorized  by  the  general  voice  of  the  people,  met  at  the 
Court-house  on  the  22d  day  of  February  and  unanimously 
chose  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis  and  Captain  Samuel  McDowell  to 
represent  them  in  the  ensuing  convention.  Instructions 
were  then  ordered  to  be  drawn  up  by  the  Reverend  Alexan 
der  Balmain,  Mr.  Sampson  Matthews,  Captain  Alexander 
McClenachan,  Mr.  Michael  Bowyer,  Mr.  William  Lewis,  and 
Captain  George  Matthews,  or  any  of  them,  and  delivered  to 
the  delegates  then  chosen ;  which  are  as  follows : 
To  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis  and  Captain  Samuel  McDowell  : 

"  The  committee  of  Augusta  county,  pursuant  to  the  trust 
reposed  in  them  by  the  freeholders  of  the  same,  have  chosen 
you  to  represent  them  in  a  Colony  convention  proposed  to 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  285 

be  held  in  Eichmond  on  the  20th  of  March  instant.  They 
desire  that  you  may  consider  the  people  of  Augusta  county 
as  impressed  with  just  sentiments  of  loyalty  and  allegiance 
to  his  Majesty  King  George,  whose  title  to  the  imperial 
Crown  of  Great  Britain  rests  on  no  other  foundation  than 
the  liberty,  and  whose  glory  is  imseparable  fronl  the  happi 
ness,  of  all  his  subjects.  We  have  also  a  respect  for  the  par 
ent-state,  which  respect  is  founded  on  religion,  on  law,  and 
the  genuine  principles  of  the  Constitution.  On  these  prin 
ciples  do  we  earnestly  desire  to  see  harmony  and  a  good 
understanding  restored  between  Great  Britain  and  Amer 
ica.  Many  of  us  and  our  forefathers  left  their  native  land, 
and  explored  this  once  savage  wilderness,  to  enjoy  the  free 
exercise  of  the  rights  of  conscience  and  of  human  nature. 
These  rights  we  are  fully  resolved,  with  our  lives  and  fort 
unes,  inviolably  to  preserve;  nor  will  we  surrender  such 
inestimable  blessings,  the  purchase  of  toil  and  danger  to  any 
Ministry,  to  any  Parliament,  or  any  body  of  men  upon 
earth  by  whom  we  are  not  represented  and  in  whose  deci 
sions  therefore  we  have  no  voice." 

Virginia  Convention. 

At  a  very  full  meeting  of  Delegates  from  the  different 
counties  in  the  Colony  and  dominion  of  Virginia,  begun  in 
Williarasburg  the  first  day  of  August,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1774,  and  continued  by  several  adjournments  to  Sat 
urday  the  6th  of  the  same  month,  the  following  association 
was  unanimously  resolved  upon  and  agreed  to : 

u  1st.  We  do  hereby  resolve  and  declare  that  we  will  not 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  after  the  first  day  of  November 
next,  import  from  Great  Britain  any  goods,  wares,  or  mer 
chandise  whatever,  medicines  excepted;  nor  will  we,  after 
that  date,  import  any  British  manufactures  either  from  the 
West  Indies  or  any  other  place ;  nor  any  articles  whatever 
which  we  shall  know  or  have  reason  to  believe  was  brought 
into  such  countries  from  Great  Britain;  nor  will  we  pur 
chase  any  such  articles  so  imported  of  any  person  or  per 
sons  whatsoever,  except  such  as  are  now  in  the  country,  or 
such  as  may  arrive  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  November 
in  consequence  of  orders  already  given,  and  which  cannot 
now  be  countermanded  in  time. 

"2d.  We  will  neither  ourselves  import,  or  purchase  any 
slave  or  slaves  imported  by  any  other  person,  after  the  first 
day  of  November  next,  either  from  Africa,  the  West  Indies, 
or  any  other  place. 

"3d.  Considering  the  article  of  tea  as  the  detestable  in 
strument  which  laid  the  foundation  of  the  present  sufferings 
of  our  distressed  friends  in  the  town  of  Boston,  we  view  it 
with  horror;  and  therefore  resolve  that  we  will  not  from 
this  day  either  import  tea  of  any  kind  whatever,  nor  will 


286  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

we  use  or  suffer  even  such  of  it  as  is  now  on  hand,  to  be  used 
in  any  of  our  families. 

4i4th.  If  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston,  or  any 
other  Colony,  should  by  violence  or  dire  necessity  be  com 
pelled  to  pay  the  East  India  Company  for  destroying  any 
tea  which  they  have  lately  by  their  agents  unjustly  at 
tempted  to  force  into  the  Colonies,  we  will  not  directly  or 
indirectly  import  or  purchase  any  British  East  India  com 
modity  whatever  till  the  company,  or  some  other  person  on 
their  behalf,  shall  refund  and  fully  restore  to  the  owners 
such  sum  or  sums  of  money  as  may  be  extorted. 

"  5th.  We  do  resolve  that,  unless  American  grievances  are 
redressed  before  the  10th  day  of  August,  1775,  we  will  not 
after  that  day  directly  or  indirectly  export  tobaccco  or  any 
other  articles  whatever  to  Great  Britain ;  nor  will  we  sell 
any  such  articles  as  we  think  can  be  exported  to  Great 
Britain,  with  a  prospect  of  gain,  to  anv  person  or  persons 
whatsoever,  with  a  design  of  putting  it  into  his  or  their 
power  to  export  the  same  to  Great  Britain  either  on  our 
own,  his,  or  their  account.  And  that  this  resolution  may 
be  the  more  effectually  carried  into  execution,  we  do  hereby 
recommend  it  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony  to  refrain 
from  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  as  much  as  conveniently 
may  be;  and  in  lieu  thereof,  that  they  will,  as  we  resolve 
to  do,  apply  their  attention  and  industry  to  the  cultivation 
of  all  such  articles  as  may  form  a  proper  basis  for  manufac 
tures  of  all  sorts  which  we  will  endeavor  to  encourage 
throughout  this  Colony  to  the  utmost  x>f  our  abilities." 

Hugh  Mercer,  etc.,  to  Captain  Wm.  Gray  son. 

"  FREDERICKSBUKG,  VA.,  April  24,  1775. 

"SrR:  From  undoubted  authority,  we  received  here  this 
day  morning  the  very  disagreeable  intelligence  that,  in  the 
night  of  Thursday  last,  Captain  Collins,  commander  of  one 
of  his  Majesty's  sloops-of-war,  by  command  of  his  Excel 
lency  the  Governor,  assisted  a  company  of  marines,  carried 
off  all  the  pbwder  from  the  magazine  in  the  city  of  Wil- 
liamsburg,  and  deposited  it  on  board  bis  vessel,  which  lay 
at  Bur  well's  Ferry,  about  five  miles  below  the  city. 

"The  said  authority  informs  us  that  the  corporation  of 
the  city  of  Williamsburg  addressed  the  Governor  on  that 
occasion.  The  people  have  received  no  satisfaction;  nor 
are  they  likely  to  recover  the  powder,  though  it  is  so  neces 
sary  for  the  security  of  the  country.  This  being  a  day  of 
meeting  of  the  Independent  Company  of  this  town,  they 
considered  it  necessary  to  take  the  matter  into  serious  con 
sideration,  and  are  come  to  a  unanimous  resolution  that  a 
submission  to  so  arbitrary  an  exertion  of  government  may 
not  only  prejudice  the  common  cause  by  introducing  a  sus- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  287 

picion  of  defection  of  this  Colony  from  the  noble  pursuit,  but 
will  encourage  the  tools  of  despotism  to  commit  further  acts 
of  violence  in  this  Colony,  and  more  especially  subject  the 
arms  in  the  magazine  to  the  same  fate  as  the  powder.  In 
these  sentiments  this  Company  could  but  determine  that  a 
number  of  public-spirited  gentlemen  should  embrace  this 
opportunity  of  showing  their  zeal  in  the  grand  cause  by 
marching  to  Williamsburg  to  inquire  into  this  affair,  and 
there  to  take  such  steps  as  may  best  answer  the  purpose  of 
recovering  the  powder  and  securing  the  arms  now  in  the 
magazine.  To  this  end  they  have  determined  to  hold  them 
selves  in  readiness  to  march  from  this  place  as  light  horse 
on  Saturday  morning;  and  in  the  mean  time  to  submit  the 
matter  to  the  determination  of  yours  and  the  neighboring 
counties,  to  whom  expresses  are  purposely  forwarded.  We 
address  you  in  the  name  of  our  Company  as  its  officers,  and 
are,  sir,  your  very  humble  servants. 

"HUGH  MERCER,  G.  WELDON, 

"ALEXANDER  SPOTSWOOD,     JNO.  WILLIS. 
"To  CAPTAIN  WM.  GRAYSON." 

Captains  Grayson  and  Lee  to  Colonel  Washington. 

"  DUMFRIES,  Ap'l  26,  1775. 

"SiR:  We  have  just  received  a  letter  from  the  officers  of 
the  Independent  Company,  of  Spottsylvania,  which  I  have 
herewith  enclosed.  We  immediately  called  together  this 
company  and  had  the  vote  put,  whether  they  would  march 
to  Williamsburg  for  the  purposes  mentioned  in  that  letter, 
which  was  carried  unanimously. 

"We  have  nothing  more  to  add,  but  that  we  are  well 
assured  you  may  depend  on  them  either  for  that  or  any 
other  service  which  respects  the  liberties  of  America.    We 
expect  your  answer  and  determination  by  Mr.  Davess. 
"We  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc., 

"WILLIAM  GRAYSON, 
"  PHIL.  ED.    FRANS.  LEE. 
"By  order  of  the  Company." 

Officers  of  Albemarle  Volunteers  to  Colonel  George  Wash 
ington. 

"  CHARLOTTESVILLE,  Ap'l  29,  1775. 

"SiR:  The  county  of  Albemarle  in  general,  and  the  Gen 
tleman  Volunteers  in  particular,  are  truly  alarmed  and 
highly  incensed  with  the  unjustifiable  proceedings  of  Lord 
Dunmore,  who,  we  are  informed,  has  clandestinely  taken 
possession  of  our  ammunition  lodged  in  the  magazine.  We 
should  have  attended  at  Fredericksburg,  in  order  to  have 
proceeded  to  Williamsburg  to  demand  a  return  of  the  powder, 
had  the  alarm  reached  us  before  an  account  of  security  being 
given  for  its  delivery. 


288  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"However,  to  assure  you  and  the  world  of  our  readiness 
and  willingness  to  resent  any  encroachments  of  arbitrary 
power,  we  now  declare  to  you,  should  it  be  necessary,  that 
the  First  Company  of  Independents  for  Albemarle  will  at 
tend  in  Williamsburg,  properly  equipped  and  prepared  to 
enforce  an  immediate  delivery  of  powder  (if  not  to  be  ob 
tained  otherwise)  or  die  in  the  attempt. 

"  With  respect,  we  remain,  ready  to  obey  your  commands, 
"  CHARLES  LEWIS,  Captain  ; 
" GEORGE  GILMER,  Lieutenant; 
"JOHN  MARKS,  2d  Lieutenant. 

"P.  S.— The  Company  will  stand  under  arms  all  day  on 
Tuesday,  waiting  your  answer." 

Meeting  of  Freeholders  of  King  William  County,  Virginia. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  of  the  county  of  King 
William,  at  the  Court-house,  on  Monday,  the  first  day  of 
May  (1775),  Carter  Braxton  and  William  Aylett,  Esqrs.,  were 
unanimously  chosen  their  delegates  to  represent  them  in  con 
vention  for  one  year  from  the  date  thereof.  A  subscription 
being  then  opened  for  the  relief  of  our  brethren  in  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  and  it  being  thought  highly  necessary  at  this 
important  crisis  that  supplies  should  be  sent  to  them,  and, 
money  being  the  only  means  by  which  that  relief  could  be 
afforded  with  certainty,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  pounds  was  immediately  contributed,  and  it  is  expected 
that  a  much  larger  sum  will  be  given  when  collections  are 
made  from  the  whole  county." 

Hanover  County  (Va.)  Committee. 

"  At  a  meeting  appointed  and  held  for  Hanover  county,  at 
the  Court-house,  on  Tuesday,  the  9th  of  May,  1775:  Present, 
John  Syme,  Samuel  Oyerton,  William  Cranch,  Merri wether 
Skelton,  Richard  Morris,  Benjamin  Anderson,  John  Pendle- 
ton,  John  Robinson,  Nelson  Berkeley,  and  George  Dabney, 
Junior,— agreeable  to  a  resolution,  of  the  committee  held  at 
New  Castle  the  2d  instant,  setting  forth  that  they,  being 
fully  informed  of  the  violent  hostilities  committed  by  the 
King's  troops  in  America,  and  of  the  danger  arising  to  the 
Colonies  by  the  loss  of  the  public  powder,  and  of  the  conduct 
of  the  Governor,  which  threatens  altogether  calamities  of 
the  greatest  magnitude  and  most  fearful  consequences  to 
this  Colony;  and  therefore  recommending  reprisals  to  be 
made  upon  the  King's  property  sufficient  to  replace  the  gun 
powder  taken  out  of  the  magazine,— it  appears  to  this  Com 
mittee,  the  Volunteers,  who  marched  from  New  Castle  to  ob 
tain  satisfaction  for  the  gunpowder  by  reprisal  or  otherwise, 
proceeded  on  that  business  as  follows,  to  wit : 

"That  an  officer  with  sixteen  men  was  detached  to  seize 
the  King's  receiver-general,  with  orders  to  detain  him ;  and 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  289 

this,  it  was  supposed,  might  be  done  without  impeding  the 
progress  of  the  main  body.  The  said  receiver-general  not 
being  apprehended,  owing  to  his  absence  from  home,  the 
said  detachment,  according  to  orders,  proceeded  to  join  the 
main  body  on  its  march  to  Williamsburg,  and  the  junction 
happened  on  the  3d  instant  at  Doncastle's  Ordinary  about 
sunset.  A  little  after  sunrise  next  morning,  the  command 
ing  officer  being  assured  that  proper  satisfaction  in  money 
should  be  instantly  made,  the  Volunteers  halted,  and  the 
proposal,  being  considered  by  them,  was  judged  satisfactory 
as  to  that  point;  and  the  following  receipt  was  given,  to  wit: 

<(<  DONCASTLE'S  ORDINARY,     ) 
NEW  KENT,  May  4,  1775.  \ 

"  *  Received  from  the  Honourable  Richard  Corbin,  Esq.,  his 
Majesty's  receiver-general  £330,  as  a  compensation  for  the 
powder  lately  taken  out  of  the  public  magazine  by  the  Gov 
ernor's  order;  which  money  I  promise  to  convey  to  the 
Virginia  Delegates  at  the  general  Congress,  to  be  under  their 
direction  laid  out  in  gunpowder  for  the  Colony's  use,  and  to 
be  stored  as  they  shall  direct,  until  the  next  Colony  conven 
tion  or  General  Assembly,  unless  it  shall  be  necessary  in  the 
mean  time  to  use  the  same  in  defence  of  this  Colony.  It  is 
agreed  that  in  case  the  next  convention  shall  determine  that 
any  part  of  the  said  money  ought  to  be  returned  to  his 
Majesty's  receiver-general,  that  the  same  shall  be  done  ac 
cordingly.  PATRICK  HENRY,  Jurir."1 

' '  It  was  then  considered  that  as  a  general  Congress  would 
meet  in  a  few  days,  and  probably  a  Colony  convention 
would  shortly  assemble,  and  that  the  reprisal  now  made 
would  amply  replace  the  powder,  with  the  charges  of  trans 
portation,  the  commanding  officer  wrote  the  following  letter 
and  sent  by  express : 

"  '  May  4,  1775. 

"  'SiR:  The  affair  of  the  powder  is  now  settled  so  as  to 
produce  satisfaction  to  me,  and,  I  earnestly  wish,  to  the 
Colony  in  general. 

"  'The  people  here  have  it  in  charge  from  the  Hanover 
Committee  to  tender  their  services  to  you  as  a  public  officer 
for  the  purpose  of  escorting  the  public  treasury  to  any  place 
in  this  Colony  where  the  money  would  be  judged  more  safe 
than  in  the  city  of  Williamsburg.  The  reprisal  now  made 
by  the  Hanover  Volunteers,  though  accomplished  in  a  man 
ner  least  liable  to  the  imputation  of  violent  extremity,  may 
possibly  be  the  cause  of  future  injury  to  the  treasury.  If, 
therefore,  you  apprehend  the  least  danger,  a  sufficient  guard 
is  at  your  service. 

"'I  beg  the  return  of  the  bearer  may  be  instant,  because 
the  men  wish  to  know  their  destination. 

'  With  great  respect,  I  am,  sir, 

'  Your  most  humble  servant, 

"  *  PATRICK  HENRY,  Junior S  " 
"To  EGBERT  CARTER  NICHOLAS,  Treasurer." 


290  THE  BIETH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"To  which  answer  was  received  from  the  said  Mr.  Nich 
olas,  importing  that  he  had  no  apprehension  of  the  necessity 
or  propriety  of  the  proffered  service.  For  which  reasons, 
and  understanding,  moreover,  for  others,  that  the  private 
citizens  of  Williamsbugh  were  in  a  great  measure  quieted 
from  their  late  apprehensions  for  their  persons  and  property, 
the  Volunteers  judged  it  best  to  return  home,  and  did  so 
accordingly  in  order  to  await  the  further  directions  of  the 
General  Congress  or  Colony  Convention. 

Augusta  County  ("Pa.)  Committee. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  Augusta 
county  that  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  Laurel  Hill,  at 
Pittsburgh,  the  16th  day  of  May,  1775, 

"  *  Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  committee  have  the 
highest  sense  of  the  spirited  behaviour  of  their  brethren  in 
New  England,  and  do  most  cordially  approve  of  their  oppos 
ing  the  invaders  of  American  rights  and  privileges  to  the 
utmost  extreme,  and  that  each  member  of  this  committee, 
respectively,  will  animate  and  encourage  their  neighborhood 
to  follow  the  brave  example.' " 

General  Washington  to  Joseph  Reed. 
(Extract.) 

"  CAMBRIDGE,  February  10,  1776. 

"With  respect  to  mvself,  I  have  never  entertained  an  idea 
of  an  accomodation  since  I  heard  of  the  measures  which 
were  adopted  in  consequence  of  the  Bunker's  Hill  fight. 
The  King's  speech  has  confirmed  the  sentiments  I  enter 
tained  upon  the  news  of  that  affair;  and  if  every  man  was 
of  my  mind,  the  Ministers  of  Great  Britain  should  know  in  a 
few  words  upon  what  issue  the  cause  should  be  put.  I 
would  not  be  deceived  by  artful  declarations  nor  specious 
pretences,  nor  would  I  be  amused  by  unmeaning  proposi 
tions, — but  in  open,  undisguised,  and  manly  terms  proclaim 
our  wrong,  and  our  resolution  to  be  redressed.  I  would  tell 
them  that  we  had  borne  much;  that  we  had  ardently  long 
sought  for  reconciliation  upon  honorable  terms;  that  it  had 
been  denied  us ;  that  all  our  attempts  after  peace  had  proved 
abortive,  and  had  been  grossly  misrepresented;  that  we  had 
done  everything  which  could  be  expected  from  the  best  of 
subjects ;  that  the  spirit  of  freedom  rises  too  high  in  us  to 
submit  to  slavery ;  and  that  if  nothing  else  would  satisfy  a 
tyrant  and  his  diabolical  Ministry,  we  are  determined  to 
shake  off  all  connections  with  a  state  so  unjust  and  un 
natural. 

* '  This  I  would  tell  them,  not  under  covert,  but  in  words  as 
clear  as  the  sun  in  its  meridian  brightness. " 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  291 

Virginia  Convention. 

"  Wednesday,  May  15,  1776. 

"  Present,  one  hundred  and  twelve  members.  .  .  . 

"  'Wherefore,  appealing  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts  for  the 
sincerity  of  former  declarations,  expressing  our  desire  to 
preserve  the  connection  with  that  nation,  and  that  we  are 
driven  from  that  inclination  by  their  wicked  counsels  and 
the  eternal  laws  of  self-preservation,— 

* '  *  Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  Delegates  appointed 
to  represent  this  Colony  in"  General  Congress  be  instructed 
to  propose  to  that  respectable  body  to  declare  the  United 
Colonies  free  and  independent  states;  absolved  from  all 
allegiance  to  or  dependence  upon  the  Crown  or  Parliament 
of  Great  Britain ;  and  that  they  give  the  assent  of  this  Col 
ony  to  such  declaration  and  to  whatever  measure  may  be 
thought  proper  and  necessary  by  the  Congress  for  forming 
foreign  alliances,  and  a  confederation  of  the  Colonies  at  such 
time  and  in  the  manner  as  to  them  shall  seem  best :  pro 
vided  that  the  power  of  forming  government  for  and  regu 
lations  for  the  internal  concerns  of  the  Colony  be  left  to  the 
respective  Colonial  legislatures. 

'"Resolved  unanimously,  That  a  committee  be  appointed 
to  prepare  a  declaration  of  rights,  and  such  a  plan  of  gov 
ernment  as  will  be  most  likely  to  maintain  peace  and  order 
in  this  Colony,  and  secure  substantial  and  equal  liberty  to 
the  people.  EDMUND  PENDELTON,  President." 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  people  of  North  Carolina,  like  those  of  Massachu 
setts,  had  from  the  earliest  times  regarded  England  rather 
as  a  cruel  step-mother  than  as  a  loving  parent.  The  Colony, 
for  the  greater  part  of  a  century,  was  under  a  government  of 
lords  proprietors,  whose  interest  in  the  inhabitants  was  that 
of  absentee  landlords,  and  whose  care  for  their  welfare  con 
sisted  in  sending  out  their  needy  and  profligate  relations 
and  dependents  to  govern  them.  The  transfer  of  the  Colony 
to  the  Crown,  in  1729,  by  increasing  official  responsibility, 
was  a  great  advantage,  but  it  was  far  from  insuring  good 
government  and  a  contented  people. 

"  The  civil  and  military  officers  of  the  Crown  in  America," 
says  Bancroft,  "were  nearly  all  men  of  British  birth,  who 
had  obtained  their  places  for  the  sake  of  profit,  and  had  no 
higher  object  than  to  augment  and  assure  their  gains. 
For  this  reason  they  wished  to  become  independent  of  Col 
onial  legislatures  for  their  support,  and  to  strengthen  the 
delegated  executive  power."  He  speaks  of  Try  on  "as  the 
able  but  selfish  Tryon,  who,  under  a  smooth  exterior,  con 
cealed  the  heart  of  a  savage."  Bernard,  the  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  and  Hutchinson  and  Oliver,  who  held  more 


292  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

than  one  each  of  the  highest  offices  in  the  Colony,  includ 
ing  judgeships,  "with  perseverance  equalled  only  by  their 
duplicity,  sought  to  increase  their  emoluments  to  free  them 
selves  from  '  their  dependence  on  the  people  for  a  necessary 
support,'  and  consolidate  their  authority  by  the  presence  of  a 
small  standing  army." 

It  has  already  been  explained  that  the  corruption  and 
tyranny  practised  by  the  officers  of  the  law  had  produced 
the  rebellion  of  the  Regulators,  which  was  suppressed  in 
blood  in  1771 ;  and  that  the  part  taken  by  the  gentlemen  of 
the  low  country  in  that  affair,  against  their  humbler  fellow- 
subjects  of  the  hills,  had  the  effect  of  alienating  thousands  of 
the  latter  from  the  cause  of  the  Revolution.  And  if  this  un 
fortunate  affair  had  not  occurred  at  that  time,  the  Colony 
would  have  been  as  nearly  unanimous  for  independence  as 
New  England.  But  in  spite  of  it,  North  Carolina  was  ever 
among  the  most  forward  to  defend  the  common  cause. 
Entirely  engaged  in  agriculture,  and  thus  secluded  from  the 
world,  her  people  felt  the  weight  of  the  British  taxes  but 
slightly ;  and  their  enthusiasm  for  the  invaded  right  of  the 
Colonies  to  tax  themselves  was  inspired  by  devotion  to  the 
principle,  and  by  generous  sympathy  with  their  suffering 
brethren  farther  North,  rather  than  by  the  grievance  they 
suffered. 

The  act  of  Parliament  of  1766,  to  take  effect  in  June,  1767, 
for  laying  duties  on  tea,  glass,  paints,  oils,  and  paper,  re 
awakened  the  spirit  of  resistance  throughout  the  Colonies 
which  had  been  so  effective  when  the  Stamp  Act  was 
passed.  The  following  account  of  the  action  of  the  Assem 
bly  on  this  occasion  is  from  Williamson's  history : 

"  This  revenue  law  was  opposed,  as  the  second  had  been, 
by  resolutions,  petitions,  and  remonstrances.  The  British 
Ministry  in  the  mean  time  used  their  utmost  endeavors  to 
prevent  a  general  association  of  the  Colonies.  For  this  pur 
pose  Governor  Tryon,  according  to  his  instructions,  assured 
the  Assembly  (twenty-third  October,  1769)  that,  'notwith 
standing  cruel  reports,  his  Majesty  had  no  desire  to  lay 
further  burdens  on  America,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a 
revenue;  and  that  he  would  propose  to  Parliament,  next 
session,  to  take  off  the  duties  upon  glass,  paper,  and  colors, 
as  laid  contrary  to  the  principles  of  commerce." 

As  the  right  of  imposing  taxes  by  Parliament  was  gen 
erally  denied  in  the  Colonies,  the  Assembly  were  little  grat 
ified  by  a  Ministerial  declaration  which  retained  the  right 
of  taxing,  while  it  temporized  by  shifting  the  objects.  With 
this  view  they  were  unanimous,  eighty  members  being 
present,  in  resolving, — 

"  That  the  sole  right  of  imposing  taxes  on  the  inhabitants 
of  North  Carolina  has  ever  been  vested  in  the  House  of  As 
sembly. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  293 

u  That  the  inhabitants  have  the  undoubted  right  of  peti 
tioning  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

41  That  the  trials  for  treasons  committed  in  the  Colony 
ought  to  be  had  here ;  and  removing  suspected  persons  to 
be  tried  beyond  the  sea  is  derogatory  to  the  rights  of  a  Brit 
ish  subject." 

The  Assembly  at  the  same  time  prepared  a  petition  of 
similar  import  to  be  forwarded  to  the  King,  through  their 
agent  in  London. 

The  Governor,  next  day,  4th  November,  1769,  informed  the 
house  that,  looking  over  their  journals,  he  found  resolutions 
that  "had  sapped  the  foundation  of  confidence  and  grati 
tude  ;"  wherefore  it  became  his  duty  to  dissolve  the  Assem 
bly.  He  dissolved  them  accordingly. 

Wilmington  (N.  C.)  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  of 
Wilmington,  in  the  Province  of  North  Carolina,  held  at  the 
town  of  Wilmington,  July  21,  1774, 

"  William  Hooper,  Esq.,  chairman, — 

'"Resolved,  That  Colonel  James  Moore,  John  Ancrum, 
Frederick  Jones,  Samuel  Ashe,  Eobert  Howe,  Robert  Hogg, 
Francis  Clayton,  and  Archibald  Maclain,  Esqrs.,  be  a  com 
mittee  to  prepare  a  circular -letter  to  the  several  counties  of 
this  Province,  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  inhabitants  of 
this  district  with  respect  to  the  several  acts  of  Parliament 
lately  made  for  the  oppression  of  our  sister-Colony  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  for  having  exerted  itself  in  defence  of 
the  Constitutional  rights  of  America. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  it  will  be  highly  expedient  that  the  sev 
eral  counties  of  this  Province  should  send  deputies  to  attend 
a  general  meeting  at  Johnston  Court-house  on  the  20th  day 
of  August  next,  then  and  there  to  debate  upon  the  present 
alarming  state  of  British  America,  and,  in  concert  with  the 
other  Colonies,  to  adopt  and  prosecute  such  measures  as  will 
most  effectually  tend  to  avert  the  miseries  that  threaten  us. 

"  'Resolved,  That  we  are  of  opinion,  in  order  to  effect  an 
uniform  plan  for  the  conduct  of  all  North  America,  that  it 
will  be  necessary  that  a  general  Congress  be  held,  and  that 
deputies  should  there  be  present  from  the  several  Colonies, 
fully  informed  of  the  sentiments  of  those  in  whose  behalf 
they  appear,  that  such  regulations  may  then  be  made  as  will 
tend  most  effectually  to  produce  an  alteration  in  the  British 
policy,  and  to  bring  about  a  change  honorable  and  bene 
ficial  to  all  America. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  have  the  most  grateful  sense  of  the 
spirited  conduct  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  all  the  other 
northern  Provinces,  and  also  the  Province  of  South  Caro 
lina,  upon  this  interesting  occasion,  and  will  with  our  purses 
and  persons  concur  with  them  in  all  loyal  measures  that 


294  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

may  be  conceived  by  the  Colonies  in  general  as  most  expe 
dient  in  order  to  bring  about  the  end  which  we  earnestly 
wish  for. 

"'Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that 
Philadelphia  will  be  the  most  proper  place  for  holding  the 
American  Congress,  and  the  20th  day  of  September  the 
most  suitable  time ;  but  in  this  we  submit  our  own  to  the 
general  convenience  of  the  other  Colonies. 

"'Resolved,  That  we  consider  the  cause  of  the  town  of 
Boston  as  the  common  cause  of  British  America,  and  the 
inhabitants  thereof  as  suffering  in  the  defence  of  the  rights 
of  the  Colonies  in  general ;  and  that  therefore  we  have,  in 
proportion  to  our  abilities,  sent  a  supply  of  provisions  for 
the  indigent  inhabitants  of  that  place,  thereby  to  express  our 
sympathy  in  their  sufferings,  and  as  an  earnest  of  our  sin 
cere  intentions  to  contribute  by  every  means  in  our  power 
to  alleviate  their  distress,  and  to  induce  them  to  maintain, 
with  prudence  and  firmness,  the  glorious  cause  in  which 
they  are  at  present  embarked.7 

"  WILMINGTON,  July  27. 

"  In  a  former  paper  we  observed  a  subscription  had  been 
opened  here  in  benalf  of  such  people  in  Boston  as  are  deprived 
by  the  stoppage  wantonly  put  to  the  trade  of  that  place,  of 
the  usual  means  of  subsisting  themselves  and  their  families ; 
we  now  observe  with  particular  pleasure  that  several  widow 
ladies  of  this  town  have  contributed  very  liberally  to  that 
benevolent  design." 

Halifax  County  (N.  (7.)  Committee  Resolutions. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  for  the  said  county  on  the 
21st  day  of  December,  1774,  present :  William  Jones,  chair 
man  ;  Nicholas  Long,  John  Bradford,  James  Hagan,  Benja 
min  McCulloch,  Joseph  John  Williams,  William  Alston, 
Egbert  Haywood,  David  Sumner,  Samuel  Weldon,  and 
Thomas  Haynes; 

"  It  being  represented  to  the  committee  that  Mr.  Andrew 
Miller,  merchant  in  Halifax  town,  refused  to  sign  the  Asso 
ciation, — 

'"Ordered,  That  Mr.  Egbert  Haywood  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Haynes  wait  on  him,  and  desire  his  attendance  before  this 
committee, 

"Upon  which  he  attended  accordingly,  refused  to  sign, 
and  gave  the  following  reasons,  to  wit : 

"  '  For  that  I  am  largely  indebted,  and  have  effects  in  my 
hands  belonging,  to  persons  residing  in  Great  Britain  ;  which 
debts  and  effects  I  cannot  remit  for  by  next  September,  after 
which. I  should  be  bound  by  this  Association  not  to  export 
any  merchandise  or  commodity  whatever  to  that  country, 
without  certain  laws  are  repealed  which  I  think  would  be 
unjust,  as  it  may  be  out  of  the  power  of  my  creditors  or 
friends  to  procure  the  repeal  of  any  law,  however  willing 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

they  may  be  to  exert  their  interest  for  that  purpose ;  and  as 
I  think  it  unjust  to  withhold  from  any  person  (even  in  a 
country  at  war  with  this)  the  property  which  might  belong 
to  him  in  my  hands,  I  must  therefore  object  to  signing  that 
part  of  the  Association  respecting  a  non-exportation  to  Brit 
ain,  and  shall  continue  to  do  so  while  I  have  any  property 
in  my  hands  belonging  to  people  of  that  country.' 

"Since,  therefore,  there  is  nothing  peculiar  or  satisfactory 
in  his  reasons,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  indicate  an 
intention  to  export  (if  he  can)  after  the  first  day  of  Septem 
ber  next, — 

"Resolved  unanimously,  to  show  our  disapprobation  of 
his  conduct,  and  to  encourage  such  merchants  as  have 
signed  the  Association,  That  we  will  not,  from  this  day,  pur 
chase  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  of  any  kind  what 
ever  from  said  Andrew  Miller,  or  any  person  acting  for  or 
in  partnership  with  him;  and  that  we  will  have  no  com 
merce  or  dealing  with  him,  after  paying  our  just  debts  and 
fulfilling  the  contracts  already  entered  into  for  commodities 
of  this  year's  produce;  and  we  also  recommend  it  to  the 
people  of  this  county  in  particular,  and  to  all  who  wish  well 
to  their  country,  to  adopt  the  same  measure.' 

"Signed  by  order  of  the  same  Committee, 

"A.  DAVIS,  Clerk." 

Governor  Martin. 

In  1775,  Governor  Martin  was  charged  with  having  given 
encouragement  to  the  slaves  to  revolt.  June  24th,  he  ad 
dressed  a  letter  from  Fort  Johnston  to  Lewis  H.  de  Rossett, 
Esq.,  a  member  of  the  Council,  in  which  he  emphatically 
denies  the  charge,  but  adds  "  that  nothing  could  ever  justify 
the  design,  falsely  imputed  to  me,  of  giving  encouragement 
to  the  negroes,  '  but  the  actual  and  declared  rebellion  of  the 
King's  subjects,  and  the  failure  of  all  other  means  to  main 
tain  the  King's  government.' " 

This  answer  was  only  a  mitigation  of  the  charge,  and 
brought  forth  the  indignant  denunciation  of  the  Newbern 
Committee,  which  is  signed  by  Richard  Cogdell,  Esq.,  a 
distinguished  Whig  of  that  town.  Martin,  at  the  time  of 
writing  this  letter,  was  a  refugee  from  the  real  or  appre 
hended  vengeance  of  the  people  of  the  Colony. 

"  NEWBERN  (N.  C.),  August  5,  1775. 

"  By  a  gentleman  just  come  to  town  from  Cape  Fear,  we 
have  a  certain  account  that  the  armed  force  which  lately 
went  down  to  burn  Fort  Johnston  have  effected  the  same 
by  destroying  all  the  houses  and  rendering  the  fortress  en 
tirely  useless.  Captain  Collet,  who  commanded  that  fort, 
it  is  said,  had  a  number  of  slaves,  which  he  had  instigated 
to  revolt  from  their  masters,  actually  concealed  in  the  fort, 


29G  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

which  were  again  recovered  by  their  several  owners.  For 
this  treachery  they  burnt  his  dwelling-house,  with  all  his 
furniture  and  everything  valuable  he  had  not  time  to  get 
on  board  the  man-of-war." 

Northampton  Co.  (N.  C.)  Committee. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  of  the  county  aforesaid, 
the  5th  day  of  August,  1775,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Charles  Edward 
Taylor:  chairman: 

"This  committee,  taking  into  their  consideration  the  clan 
destine  manner  of  Anthony  Warwick's  conveying  powder 
from  Virginia  to  Hillsborough,  and  also  examining  witnesses 
and  papers  relative  thereto,  do,— 

"Resolve,  That  the  said  Anthony  Warwick  has  violated 
the  association  in  a  flagrant  manner,  and  showed  himself  in 
the  highest  degree  an  enemy  to  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
America ;  and  the  committee  do  consider  him  as  an  object 
to  be  held  in  the  utmost  detestation  by  all  lovers  of  Ameri 
can  freedom. 

"  Ordered,  That  the  clerk  of  this  committee  do  transmit  a 
copy  of  the  above  resolve  to  Dixon  and  Hunter,  to  be  pub 
lished  in  their  Gazette. 

"  EATON  HAYNES,  Clerk  to  Committee." 

Anson  County  (N.  C.). 

The  Tories  of  Anson  County,  227  in  number,  addressed  a 
letter  of  some  length  to  the  royal  Governor,  Martin,  in 
which  they  express  their  "disapprobation  and  abhorrence 
of  the  many  lawless  combinations  and  unwarrantable  prac 
tices  actually  carrying  on  by  a  gross  tribe  of  infatuated 
anti-monarchists  in  the  several  Colonies  of  these  domin 
ions,"  etc. 

The  names  are  not  attached  to  the  printed  copy  in  the 
American  Archives. 

The  Tories  of  Guilford  county  addressed  a  letter  of  similar 
import  to  Governor  Martin,  said  to  have  been  signed  by  116 
inhabitants  of  the  county.  They  say,  "and  we,  being  a  poor 
and  unhappy  people,  lying  under  the  reflection  of  the  late 
insurrection,  we  therefore  have  taken  this  opportunity  to 
show  forth  our  loyalty,"  etc.  In  other  words,  they  were 
the  Regulators,  who  had  been  subdued  by  the  aid  of  the  lead 
ing  Whigs  a  few  years  prior  to  the  date  of  the  letter. 

One  hundred  and  ninety-five  of  the  inhabitants  of  Rowan 
and  Surry  counties  sent  up  a  similar  letter,  protesting  their 
loyalty  to  the  Crown,  and  their  abhorrence  of  the  measures 
of  resistance  to  British  tyranny.  They  were  doubtless  all 
of  the  class  of  Regulators. 


Tim  BIRTH  Of  THE  REPUBLIC.  297 

Convention  at  Newbern. 

"  April  6,  1775. 

"Mr.  Thomas  Macknight,  a  Delegate  of  the  county  of 
Currituck,  having  been  called  upon  to  sign  (with  the  other 
members  of  the  convention)  the  Association  approved  of  by 
the  Continental  Congress,  thereupon  refused,  and  withdrew 
himself. 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  convention  that, 
from  the  disingenuous  and  equivocal  behaviour  of  the  said 
Thomas  Macknight,  it  is  manifest  his  intentions  are  inimical 
to  the  cause  of  American  liberty ;  and  we  do  hold  him  up  as 
a  proper  object  of  contempt  to  this  continent,  and  recom 
mend  that  every  person  break  off  all  connection  and  have 
no  more  future  commercial  intercourse  or  dealings  with 
him. 

"Resolved,  That  the  above  resolve  be  published  in  the 
gazettes  of  this  and  the  neighboring  Colonies. 

"  A  true  copy  from  the  minutes. 

"Attested by  ANDREW  KNOX,  Clerk." 

The  colleagues  of  Mr.  Macknight,  from  Currituck,  and  also 
the  representatives  from  Pasquotank,  protested  against  the 
injustice  which  they  said  was  done  that  gentleman;  but 
their  protest  was  not  allowed  to  go  on  the  journal,  and  the 
consequence  was  that  they  withdrew  from  the  meeting, 
although  pledging  their  adherence  to  the  continental  agree 
ment. 

"  NEWBERN,  April  12,  1775. 

"  The  Governor  and  Council  order  that  the  name  of  John 
Harvey,  Esq.,  be  stricken  from  Commission  of  the  Peace  of 
Perquimans  Co. ,  in  consequence  of  his  having  presided  as 
moderator  of  the  Convention  at  Newbern. " 

Circular-letter  from  the  Wilmington  Committee  to  the 
freeholders  of  the  several  counties  of  the  Province  of  North 
Carolina  : 

"  GENTLEMEN  :  At  this  conjuncture  of  British  politics, 
when  the  liberty  and  property  of  North  American  subjects 
are  at  stake ;  when  the  schemes  of  a  designing  Minister  are 
so  far  matured  to  action  that  the  port  of  Boston  is  shut  up, 
that  the  Charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay  is  cruelly  infringed, 
and  its  government  converted  into  one  nearly  military,— to 
be  silent  would  be  insidious. 

"  To  avoid  such  an  imputation  to  this  part  of  the  Province, 
we,  the  subscribers,  appointed  a  Committee  of  Correspond 
ence  for  the  town  and  district  of  Wilmington,  at  a  most 
respectable  meeting  of  the  freeholders  of  this  district,  by 
their  express  command,  take  this  earliest  opportunity  of 
acquainting  you  with  their  resolutions,  a  copy  of  which  we 
now  enclose  you;  and  request  that  you  would  send  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

members  already  by  you  elected  to  represent  you  in  the 
General  Assembly,  or  such  other  persons  whom  you  shall 
approve  of,  to  appear  as  your  deputies  at  the  Court-house  of 
Johnston  county,  on  the  20th  day  of  August  next,  possessed 
of  the  sentiments  of  those  in  whose  behalf  they  attend,  and 
with  full  power  to  express  it  as  obligatory  on  the  future  con 
duct  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province,  and  then  and  there 
to  consult  and  determine  what  may  be  necessary  to  the 
general  welfare  of  America  and  of  this  Province. 

"  We  at  the  same  time  take  the  liberty  to  inform  you  that 
there  has  been  set  on  foot  a  subscription  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor  artizans  and  laborers  of  the  town  of  Boston,  precluded 
\)j  one  of  the  before-mentioned  measures  of  the  British 
Minister  from  following  their  respective  occupations ;  and 
we  have  reason  to  congratulate  ourselves  upon  the  generous 
contribution  of  the  inhabitants  which  has  put  it  in  our 
power  to  load  a  vessel  with  provisions  which  will  sail  this 
week  for  the  port  of  Salem. 

* '  We  rely  upon  your  sending  an  immediate  answer  to  these 
our  proposals,  and,  wishing  you  success  in  all  your  efforts 
for  the  support  of  the  Constitutional  liberties  of  America, 
permit  us  to  subscribe  ourselves,"  etc. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Wilmington,  N.  C., 
to  his  friend  in  Boston,  dated  August  2,  1774: 

"  As  to  public  matters,  I  shall  likewise  please  you  when  I 
inform  you  that  a  patriotic  spirit  possesses  every  bosom, 
which  all  ranks  of  persons  seem  emulous  to  express  by  ac 
tions  as  well  as  words.  Even  those  few  from  whom  another 
conduct  was  expected,  have  surprised  the  world  by  a  zeal  for 
the  service  of  their  suffering  brethren  in  Boston,  and  a 
liberality  in  contributing  to  their  relief,  which  till  this  occa 
sion  gave  them  an  opportunity  of  displaying,  scarce  anybody 
supposed  them  capable  of.  A  subscription  having  been  set 
on  foot  for  the  support  of  the  Bostonians  (suffering  nobly 
in  the  common  cause  of  America),  a  very  few  days,  from  a 
few  individuals,  produced  as  much  as  loaded  the  vessel  by 
which  this  letter  comes ;  and  by  this  time,  I  have  no  doubt, 
enough  is  collected  to  load  another.  Nor  is  this  all ;  for  there 
is  apparent  in  almost  every  individual  a  proper  sense  of  the 
injury  done  to  the  Colonies,  in  the  tendency  of  those  oppres 
sive  acts  of  Parliament,  and  a  determined  spirit  of  opposition 
and  resentment  worthy  of  a  humane  bosom  in  the  great 
cause  of  liberty. 

"A  numerous  and  respectable  meeting  of  the  six  counties 
in  the  district  of  Wilmington  has  been  had,  and  they  have, 
without  one  dissenting  voice,  resolved  upon  pursuing  every 
legal  and  rightful  measure  to  aid  and  assist  their  sister- 
Colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  to  the  utmost  of  their 
power ;  and  have  sent  expresses  to  every  county  in  the  Prov 
ince,  strictly  recommending  a  subscription  in  each  of  them 


THE  BIRTII  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  299 

for  the  same  purpose.  A  general  meeting  of  all  the  members 
of  the  Assembly  is  to  be  held  in  a  few  days  at  Johnston 
Court-house,  to  elect  Delegates  to  attend  the  general  Con 
gress  at  Philadelphia  the  first  Monday  in  September. " 

Extract  of  a  letter  received  at  Boston  from  Wilmington, 
N.  C.,  dated  August  3,  1774: 

"  No  sooner  was  a  subscription  put  about  for  the  relief  of 
our  suffering  brethren  in  Boston  than  in  a  few  days,  I  am 
told,  two  thousand  pounds  in  currency  was  raised ;  and  it  is 
expected  something  very  considerable  will  be  contributed  at 
Newbern  and  Edenton  for  the  same  noble  purpose,  as  sub 
scriptions  are  set  on  foot  in  every  county  in  the  Province. 

44  You  will  receive  this  by  Mr.  Parker  Quince,  who  gener 
ously  made  an  offer  of  his  vessel  to  carry  a  load  of  provisions 
to  Boston,  freight  free;  and  what  redounds  to  the  honor  of 
the  tars,  the  master  and  mariners  navigate  her  without  re 
ceiving  one  farthing  wages.  It  is  supposed  Lord  North  will 
hang  himself  with  his  rope  of  sand." 

Privy  Council  at  Newbern. 

"  At  a  Privy  Council  held  at  Newbern  the  12th  of  August, 
1774,  present:  His  Excellency  the  Governor,  the  honorable 
James  Hasell,  Lewis  H.  de  Rossett,  John  Sampson,  William 
Dry,  and  Samuel  Cornell,  Esqrs., — his  Excellency  the  Gov 
ernor  addressed  the  honorable  members  of  this  board  as  fol 
lows: 

u  '  GENTLEMEN  OP  His  MAJESTY'S  COUNCIL:  "I  have  heard 
with  the  greatest  concern,  and  I  have  read  in  public  news 
papers  and  handbills,  of  invitations  to  the  people  in  the 
several  counties  and  towns  of  this  Province  to  meet  together 
to  express  their  sentiments  on  acts  lately  passed  by  the 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  appoint  deputies  to  at 
tend  on  their  behalf  (with  powers  obligatory  of  the  future 
conduct  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province),  at  a  meeting 
that  I  understand  is  to  be  held  here  on  the  25th  instant. 

11 '  I  also  find  that  meetings  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabi 
tants  have  been  accordingly  already  held  in  some  places,  at 
which  resolves  have  been  entered  into  derogatory  to  the 
dignity  of  his  Majesty  and  his  Parliament,  and  tending  to 
excite  clamour  and  discontent  among  the  King's  subjects  in 
this  Province. 

"'Under  these  circumstances,  gentlemen,  I  consider  it 
my  indispensable  duty  to  his  Majesty  and  this  country  to 
advise  with  you  the  measures  most  proper  to  be  taken  to 
discourage  or  prevent  these  assemblies  or  the  people,  which 
are  so  inconsistent  with  the  peace  and  good  order  of  this 
government ;  whose  professed  purposes  will  appear  at  least 
highly  indecent  and  have  an  evident  tendency  to  draw  his 
Majesty's  displeasure  on  this  Province,  already  laboring 


300  THE  BIRTH  OF  TUB  REPUBLIC. 

under  the  most  grievous  and  disgraceful  circumstances  for 
want  of  a  just  and  effectual  civil  polity.' 

"The  Council  desired  to  take  time  maturely  to  consider 
the  subject  of  the  above  address  till  to-morrow  morning. 
The  Governor  finding  that  during  the  absence  of  Mr.  How 
ard,  the  circumstances  of  things  rendered  the  temporary 
appointment  of  a  Chief  Justice  necessary,  recommended  the 
Honourable  Mr.  Hasell  for  such  appointment,  who  was 
unanimously  approved." 

u  At  a  Privy  Council  held  at  Newbern,  13th  August,  1774, 
present :  His  Excellency  the  Governor,  the  honorable  James 
Hasell,  Lewis  H.  de  Kossett,  John  Sampson,  William  Dry, 
and  Samuel  Cornell,  Esqrs., 

"  The  members  of  the  Council  having-  maturely  considered 
the  matters  laid  before  them  yesterday  by  the  Governor, 
unanimously  concurred  in  advice  to  his  Excellency,  to  issue 
a  proclamation  forthwith,  to  discourage  and  prevent  the 
meetings  and  assemblies  of  the  people  of  this  Province  men 
tioned  in  the  Governor's  address  of  yesterday,  and  that  they 
do  not  discern  that  any  other  measures  can  be  properly  taken 
on  the  occasion  at  present." 

"NORTH  CAROLINA,    ss..- 

"By  his  Excellency  Josidh  Martin,  Esquire,  Captain, 
General,  Governor,  and  Commander-in-chief  in  and  over  the 
said  Province  : 

"  A  PROCLAMATION. 

"  Whereas,  It  appears  to  me  that  meetings  and  assemblies 
of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province  have  been  in  some  of  the 
counties  and  towns  thereof  already  held,  and  are  in  others 
appointed  to  be  held,  without  any  legal  authority,  and  that 
resolves  have  been  entered  into  and  plans  concerted  (in 
such  meetings  as  are  passed)  derogatory  to  his  Majesty  and 
the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain ;  and  that,  there  is  reason  to 
apprehend,  the  same  inflammatory,  disloyal,  and  indecent 
measures  may  be  adopted  in  such  future  assemblies,  incon 
sistent  with  the  peace  and  good  order  of  this  government, 
and  tending  to  excite  clamour  and  discontent  among  his 
Majesty's  subjects  in  this  Province:  I  have  thought  fit, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  to  issue 
this  proclamation,  to  discourage  as  much  as  possible  pro 
ceedings  so  illegal  and  unwarrantable  in  their  nature,  and 
in  their  effect  so  obviously  injurious  to  the  welfare  of  this 
country. 

"And  to  this  end  I  do  hereby  strictly  require  and  enjoin 
on  their  allegiance,  all  and  every  his  Majesty's  subjects,  to 
forbear  to  attend  at  any  such  illegal  meetings,  and  that  they 
do  discharge  and  prevent  the  same  by  all  and  every  means 
in  their  power,  and,  more  particularly,  that  they  do  forbear 
to  attend  and  prevent,  as  far  as  in  them  Lies,  the  meeting  of 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  301 

certain  deputies  said  to  be  appointed  to  be  held  at  Newbern 
on  the  25th  instant.  And  I  do  more  especially  charge,  re 
quire,  and  command  all  and  every  his  Majesty's  justices  of 
the  peace,  sheriffs,  and  other  officers  to  be  aiding  and  as 
sisting  herein  to  the  utmost  of  their  power.  Given  under 
my  hand  and  the  great  seal  of  the  said  Province,  at  Newbern, 
the  13th  day  of  August,  1774,  and  in  the  fourteenth  of  his 
Majesty's  reign. 

"  God  save  the  King.  Jo.  MARTIN." 

"At  a  Council  held  at  Newbern  the  25th  August,  1774, 
Present:  His  Excellency  the  Governor,  the  Honorable 
James  Hasell,  John  Rutherford,  Lewis  H.  de  Rossett,  John- 
Sampson,  William  Dry,  and  Samuel  Cornell,  Esquires, — 

"The  Governor  signified  to  the  board  that  this  was  the 
day  appointed  for  the  meeting,  of  certain  persons  called 
deputies,  from  the  several  counties  and  towns  of  the  Prov 
ince,  at  this  place,  and  many  of  them  were  accordingly  come 
to  town;  and  desired  the  advice  of  the  Council  whether  he 
could  take  any  further  measures  than  those  he  had  taken 
pursuant  to  their  advice  on  the  13th  instant,  when  they  were 
unanimously  of  opinion  that  no  other  steps  could  be  properly 
taken  at  this  conjuncture." 

North  Carolina  Convention. 

The  Journal  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  first  Provincial  Con 
vention  of  North  Carolina,  held  at  Newbern  on  the  24th  day 
of  August,  A.D.  1774: 

"NORTH  CAROLINA,    ss.: 

"At  a  general  meeting  of  deputies  of  the  inhabitants  of 
this  Province  at  Newbern,  the  25th  day  of  August,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy- 
four: 

"  Appeared  for, — 

"  Anson  Co.,  Mr.  Samuel  Spencer,  Wm.Thomas;  Beaufort 
Co.,  Roger  Ormond,  Thos.  Respass,  Jr.;  Bladen  Co.,  Wm. 
Salter,  Walter  Gibson;  Bute  Co.,  Wm-  Person,  Green  Hill; 
Brunswick  Co.,  Robert  Howe ;  Bertie  Co.,  John  Campbell; 
Craven  Qo.,  James  Coor,  Lemuel  Hatch,  Joseph  Leech,  Rich 
ard  Cogdell ;  Carteret  Co. ,  William  Thompson ;  Currituck  Co. , 
Sol.  Perkins,  Nathan  Rayner,  Samuel  Jarvis ;  Chowan  Co., 
Sam'l  Johnston,  Thos.  Oldham,  Thos,  Benbury,  Thos.  Jones, 
Thos.  Hunter;  Cumberland  Co.,  Farquard  Campbell,  Thos. 
Rutherford;  Dobbs  Co.,  Richard  Caswell,  Wm.  McKinnie, 
George  Miller,  Simon  Bright;  Duplin  Co.,  Thos.  Gray,  Thos. 
Hicks,  Jas.  Kenan  William  Dickson;  Granville  Co.,  Thos. 
Person,  Memucan  Hunt;  Hyde  Co.,  Rothias  Latham,  Sam'l 
Smith;  HJifaxCo.,  Nicholas  Long,  Willie  Jones;  Johnston 
Co.,  Needham  Bryan,  Benj.  Williams;  Mecklenburgh  Co., 
Benj.  Patton;  Martin  Co.,  Edmund  Smythwick;  New  Han- 


302  THE  BIRTU  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

over  Co.,  John  Aslie,  Win.  Hooper;  Northampton  Co.,  Allen 
Jones;  Orange  Co.,  Thomas  Hart;  Onslow  Co.,  Wm.  Gray; 
Perquimans  Co.,  Jno.  Harvey,  Benj.  Harvey,  Andrew  Knox, 
Thos.  Harvey,  Jno.  Whedbee,  Jr. ;  Pasquotank  Co. ,  Joseph 
Jones,  Ed.  Everigin,  Joseph  Reading;  Pitt  Co.,  Jno.  Simp 
son,  Edward  Salter;  Rowan  Co.,  Wm.  Kennon,  Moses  Win- 
slow,  Sam'l  Young;  Try  on  Co..  David  Jenkins,  Robt.  Alex 
ander;  Tyrrell  Co.,  Joseph  Spruill,  Jere'm  Fraser;  Newbern- 
town,  Abner  Nash,  Isaac  Edwards;  Edentontown,  Joseph 
Hewes;  Wilmingtontown,  Francis  Clayton;  for  the  town  of 
Bath,  Wm.  Brown ;  for  the  town  of  Halifax,  Jno.  Geddy. 

"The  deputies  then  proceeded  to  make  choice  of  a  mod 
erator,  when  Colonel  John  Harvey  was  unanimously  chosen, 
and  Mr.  Andrew  Knox  appointed  clerk.  The  meeting  then 
adjourned  till  eight  o'clock  to-morrow  morning. 

"  Friday,  August  26,  1774. 

" The  meeting  met  according  to  adjournment: 

"Mr.  Hewes,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Committee  of 
Correspondence,  presented  several  letters  from  the  Commit 
tees  of  Correspondence  of  the  other  Colonies  in  America, 
and  the  several  answers  thereto,  which,  on  motion,  were 
ordered  to  be  read.  And  after  the  most  mature  deliberation 
had  thereon, — 

"  'Resolved,  That  three  Delegates  be  appointed  to  attend 
the  general  Congress  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  some  time 
in  September  next.' 

"The  meeting  adjourned  till  eight  o'clock  to-morrow 
morning. 

"  Saturday,  August  27,  1774. 

"The  meeting  met  according  to  adjournment,  and  came 
to  the  following  resolutions,  to  wit: 

"  '  We,  his  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects,  the 
deputies  from  the  several  counties  and  towns  of  the  Province 
of  North  Carolina,  impressed  with  the  most  sacred  respect 
for  the  British  Constitution,  and  resolved  to  maintain  the 
succession  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  as  of  law  established, 
and  avowing  our  inviolable  and  unshaken  fidelity  to  our 
sovereign,  and  entertaining  a  sincere  regard  for  our  fellow- 
subjects  in  Great  Britain,  viewing  with  the  utmost  abhor 
rence  every  attempt  which  may  tend  to  disturb  the  peace 
and  good  order  of  this  Colony,  or  to  shake  the  fidelity  of  his 
Majesty's  subjects  resident  here;  but  at  the  same  time  con 
ceiving  it  a  duty  which  we  owe  to  ourselves  and  posterity, 
in  the  present  alarming  state  of  British  America,  when  our 
most  essential  rights  are  invaded  by  powers  unwarrantably 
assumed  by  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  to  declare  our 
sentiments  in  the  most  public  manner,  lest  silence  should  be 
construed  as  acquiescence,  and  that  we  patiently  submit  to 
the  burthen  which  they  have  thought  fit  to  impose  upon  us : 

"  *  Resolved,  That  his  Majesty  George  the  Third  is  lawful 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  303 

and  rightful  King  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  dominions  there 
unto  belonging,  and  of  this  Province  as  part  thereof,  and 
that  we  do  bear  faithful  and  true  allegiance  unto  him  as  our 
lawful  sovereign ;  that  we  will  to  the  utmost  of  our  power 
maintain  and  defend  the  succession  of  the  House  of  Hanover, 
as  by  law  established,  against  the  open  or  private  attempts 
of  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever. 

"  'Resolved,  That  we  claim  no  more  than  the  rights  of 
Englishmen,  without  diminution  or  abridgment;  that  it  is 
our  indispensable  duty,  and  will  be  our  constant  endeavor, 
to  maintain  those  rights  to  the  utmost  of  our  power  consist 
ently  with  the  lovality  we  owe  our  sovereign,  and  a  sacred 
regard  for  the  British  Constitution. 

"  'Resolved,  It  is  of  the  very  essence  of  the  British  Con 
stitution  that  no  subject  should  be  taxed  but  by  his  own 
consent,  freely  given  by  himself  in  person,  or  by  his  legal 
representatives ;  and  that  any  other  than  such  a  taxation  is 
highly  derogatory  to  the  rights  of  a  subject  and  a  gross  vio 
lation  of  the  grand  Charter  of  pur  liberties. 

"  *  Eesolved,  That  as  the  British  subjects  resident  in  North 
America  have  not,  nor  can  have,  any  representation  in  the 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  therefore  any  act  of  Parlia 
ment  imposing  a  tax  upon  them  is  illegal  and  unconstitu 
tional;  and  that  our  Provincial  Assemblies,  the  King,  by  his 
Governors,  constituting  one  branch  thereof,  solely  and  ex 
clusively  possess  that  right. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  duties  imposed  by  several  acts  of 
the  British  Parliament  upon  tea  and  other  articles  consumed 
in  America,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue,  are  highly 
illegal  and  oppressive ;  and  that  the  late  exportation  of  tea 
by  the  East  India  Company  to  different  parts  of  America 
was  intended  to  give  effect  to  one  of  the  said  acts  and  there 
by  establish  a  precedent  highly  dishonourable  to  America, 
and  to  obtain  an  implied  assent  to  the  powers,  which  Great 
Britain  had  unwarrantably  assumed,  of  levying  a  tax  upon 
us  without  our  consent. 

"'Resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  the  Massachusetts 
Province  have  distinguished  themselves  in  a  manly  support 
of  the  rights  of  America  in  general;  and  that  the  cause  in 
which  they  now  suffer  is  the  cause  of  every  honest  American 
who  deserves  the  blessings  which  the  Constitution  holds 
forth  to  them ;  that  the  grievances  under  which  the  town 
of  Boston  labors  at  present  are  the  effect  of  a  resentment 
levelled  at  them  for  having  stood  foremost  in  the  opposition 
to  measures  which  must  eventually  have  involved  all  British 
America  in  a  state  of  abject  dependence  and  servitude. 

"Resolved,  The  act  of  Parliament  commonly  called  the 
Boston  Port  Act,  as  it  tends  to  shut  up  the  port  of  Boston, 
and  thereby  effectually  destroy  its  trade  and  deprive  the 
merchants  and  manufacturers  of  a  subsistence  which  they 


304  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

have  hitherto  procured  hy  an  honest  industry;  as  it  takes 
away  the  wharfs,  quays,  and  other  property  of  many  citi 
zens  by  rendering  it  useless  to  them ;  and  as  the  duration  of 
this  act  depends  upon  circumstances  founded  merely  in 
opinion,  and  in  that  nature  indeterminate,  and  thereby  may 
make  the  miseries  it  carries  with  it  even  perpetual,— there 
fore,  that  it  is  the  most  cruel  infringement  of  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  people  of  Boston,  both  as  men  and  members 
of  the  British  Government. 

"Resolved,  That  the  late  act  of  Parliament  for  regulating 
the  police  of  that  Province  is  an  infringement  of  the  Charter 
right  granted  them  by  their  Majesties  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary,  and  tends  to  lessen  that  sacred  confidence 
which  ought  to  be  placed  in  the  acts  of  kings. 

"Resolved,  That  trial  by  juries  of  the  vicinity  is  the  only 
lawful  inquest  that  can  pass  upon  the  life  of  a  British  sub 
ject;  and  that  it  is  a  right  handed  down  to  us  from  the 
earliest  ages,  confirmed  and  sanctified  by  Magna  Charta 
itself,  that  no  freemen  shall  be  taken  and  imprisoned  or  dis 
possessed  of  his  free  tenement  and  liberties,  or  outlawed  or 
banished,  or  in  any  wise  hurt  or  injured,  unless  by  the  legal 
judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the  land;  and  there 
fore  all  who  suffer  otherwise  are  not  victims  to  public 
justice,  but  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  powers  of  tyranny  and 
high-handed  oppression. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  bill  for  altering  the  administration  of 
justice  in  certain  criminal  cases  within  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  as  it  empowers  the  Governors  thereof 
to  send  to  Great  Britain  for  trial  all  persons  who,  in  aid  of  his 
Majesty's  officers,  shall  commit  any  capital  offence,  is  fraught 
with  the  highest  injustice  and  partiality,  and  will  tend  to 
produce  frequent  bloodshed  of  the  inhabitants,  as  this  act 
furnishes  an  opportunity  to  commit  the  most  atrocious 
crimes,  with  the  greatest  probability  of  impunity. 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  not  directly  or  indirectly,  after 
the  first  day  of  January,  1775,  import  from  Great  Britain 
any  East  India  goods  or  any  merchandise  whatever,  medi 
cines  excepted;  nor  will  we  after  that  day  import  from  the 
West  Indies  or  elsewhere  any  East  India  or  British  goods  or 
manufactures,  nor  will  we  purchase  any  such  articles  so 
imported  of  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever,  except  such 
as  are  now  in  the  country  or  may  arrive  on  or  before  the 
first  day  of  January,  1775. 

"  Resolved,  That  unless  American  grievances  are  redressed 
before  the  first  day  of  October,  1775,  we  will  not  after  that 
day  directly  or  indirectly  export  tobacco,  pitch,  tar,  turpen 
tine,  or  any  other  article  whatever  to  Great  Britain ;  nor  will 
we  sell  any  such  articles  as  we  think  can  be  exported  to 
Great  Britain  with  a  prospect  of  gain  to  any  person  or  per 
sons  whatsoever,  with  a  design  of  putting  i't  in  his  or  their 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  305 

power  to  export  the  same  to  Great  Britain,  either  on  our 
own,  his,  or  their  account. 

"  Eesolved,  That  we  will  not  import  any  slave  or  slaves,  or 
purchase  any  slave  or  slaves  imported  or  brought  into  this 
Province  by  others,  from  any  part  of  the  world  after  the  first 
day  of  November  next. 

"  Eesolved,  That  we  will  not  use  nor  suffer  East  India  tea 
to  be  used  in  our  families  after  the  tenth  day  of  September 
next ;  and  that  we  will  consider  all  persons  in  this  Province, 
not  complying  with  this  resolve,  to  be  enemies  to  their 
country. 

"Resolved,  That  the  venders  of  merchandise  within  this 
Province  ought  not  to  take  advantage  of  the  resolves  relat 
ing  to  non-importation  in  this  Province  or  elsewhere  ;  but 
ought  to  sell  their  goods  and  merchandise  which  they  have, 
or  may  hereafter  import,  at  the  same  rates  they  have  been 
accustomed  to  sell  them  within  three  months  last  past. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  people  of  this  Province  will  break  off 
all  trade,  commerce,  and  dealing,  and  will  not  maintain  any 
the  least  trade,  dealing,  or  commercial  intercourse,  with  any 
Colony  on  this  continent,  or  with  any  city  or  town,  or  with 
any  individual  in  such  Colony,  city,  or  town,  which  shall 
refuse,  decline,  or  neglect  to  adopt  and  carry  into  execution 
such  general  plan  as  shall  be  agreed  to  in  the  Continental 
Congress. 

"Resolved,  That  we  approve  of  the  proposal  of  a  general 
Congress  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  on  the  20th 
of  September  next,  then  and  there  to  deliberate  upon  the 
present  state  of  British  America,  and  to  take  such  measures 
as  they  may  deem  prudent  to  effect  the  purpose  of  describ 
ing  with  certainty  the  rights  of  Americans,  repairing  the 
breaches  made  in  those  rights,  and  for  guarding  them  for 
the  future  from  any  such  violations  done  under  the  same 
sanction  of  public  authority. 

"Resolved,  That  William  Hooper,  Joseph  Hewes,  and 
Richard  Caswell,  Esquires,  and  every  of  them,  be  deputies 
to  attend  such  Congress ;  and  they  are  hereby  invested  with 
such  powers  as  may  make  any  act  done  by  them  or  consent 
given  in  behalf  of  this  Province,  obligatory  in  honour  upon 
every  inhabitant  thereof  who  is  not  alien  to  his  country's 
good,  and  an  apostate  to  the  liberties  of  America. 

"Resolved,  That  they  view  the  attempts  made  by  the 
Ministry  upon  the  town  of  Boston  as  a  prelude  to  a  general 
attack  upon  the  rights  of  the  other  Colonies ;  and  that  upon 
the  success  of  this  depends,  in  a  great  measure,  the  happiness 
of  America  in  its  present  race,  and  in  posterity ;  and  that 
therefore  it  becomes  our  duty  to  contribute,  in  proportion  to 
our  abilities,  to  ease  the  burthen  imposed  upon  that  town  for 
their  virtuous  opposition  to  the  revenue  acts,  that  they 
may  be  enabled  to  persist  in  a  prudent  and  manly  opposition 


306  TEE  BIRTH  OF  TEE  REPUBLIC. 

to  the  schemes  of  Parliament,  and  render  its  dangerous 
designs  abortive. 

"Resolved,  That  liberty  is  the  spirit  of  the  British  Con 
stitution,  and  that  it  is  the  duty,  and  will  be  the  endeavor, 
of  us  as  British  Americans,  to  transmit  this  happy  Constitu 
tion  to  our  posterity  in  a  state,  if  possible,  better  than  we 
found  it ;  and  that  to  suffer  it  to  undergo  a  change  which 
may  impair  that  invaluable  blessing  would  be  to  disgrace 
those  ancestors  who,  at  the  expense  of  their  blood,  purchased 
those  privileges  which  their  degenerate  posterity  are  too 
weak  or  too  wicked  to  maintain  inviolate. 

"Resolved,  That  at  every  future  Provincial  meeting,  when 
any  division  "shall  happen,  the  method  to  be  observed  shall 
be  to  vote  by  the  counties  and  towns  (having  a  right  to  send 
members  to  Assembly)  that  shall  be  represented  at  every 
such  meeting;  and  it  is  recommended  to  the  deputies  of  the 
several  counties  that  a  committee  of  five  persons  be  chosen 
for  each  county,  by  such  persons  as  accede  to  this  associa 
tion,  to  take  effectual  care  that  these  resolves  be  properly 
observed,  and  to  correspond  occasionally  with  the  Provin 
cial  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  this  Province. 

"Resolved,  That  each  and  every  county  in  this  Province 
raise  as  speedily  as  possible  the  sum  of  twenty  pounds 
Proclamation  money,  and  pay  the  same  into  the  hands  of 
Richard  Caswell,  Esq.,  to  be  by  him  equally  divided  among 
the  deputies  appointed  to  attend  the  general  Congress  at 
Philadelphia,  as  a  recompense  for  their  trouble  and  expense 
in  attending  the  said  Congress. 

"Resolved,  That  the  moderator  of  this  meeting,  and,  in 
case  of  his  death,  Samuel  Johnston,  Esq.,  be  empowered,  on 
any  future  occasion  that  may  in  his  opinion  require  it,  to 
convene  the  several  deputies  of  this  Province,  which  now 
or  hereafter  shall  be  chosen,  at  such  time  and  place  as  he 
shall  think  proper;  and,  in  case  of  the  death  or  absence  of 
any  deputy,  it  is  recommended  that  another  be  chosen  in 
his  stead. 

"Resolved,  That  the  following  be  instructions  for  the 
deputies  appointed  to  meet  in  general  Congress  on  the  part 
of  this  Colony,  to  wit : 

"That  they  express  our  sincere  attachment  to  our  most 
gracious  sovereign,  King  George  the  Third,  and  pur  deter 
mined  resolution  to  support  his  lawful  authority  in  the 
Province ;  at  the  same  time,  that  we  cannot  depart  from  a 
steady  adherence  to  the  first  law  of  nature— a  firm  and  reso 
lute  defence  of  our  persons  and  properties  against  all  un 
constitutional  encroachments  whatsoever. 

"That  they  assert  our  right  to  all  the  privileges  of  British 
subjects,  particularly  that  of  paying  no  taxes  or  duties  but 
with  our  own  consent ;  and  that  the  legislature  of  this  Prov- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  EEPUBLIC.  307 

ince  have  the  exclusive  power  of  making  laws  to  regulate 
our  internal  polity,  subject  to  his  Majesty's  disallowance. 

"  That,  should  the  British  Parliament  continue  to  exercise 
the  power  of  levying  taxes  and  duties  on  the  Colonies,  and 
making  laws  to  bind  them  in  all  cases  whatsover,  such  laws 
must  be  highly  unconstitutional  and  oppressive  to  the  in 
habitants  of  British  America,  who  have  not,  and  from  their 
local  circumstances  cannot,  have  a  fair  and  equal  represen 
tation  in  the  British  Parliament ;  and  that  these  disadvan 
tages  must  be  greatly  enhanced  by  the  misrepresentation  of 
designing  men,  inimical  to  the  Colonies,  the  influence  of 
whose  reports  cannot  be  guarded  against  by  reason  of  the 
distance  of  America  from  them,  or,  as  has  been  unhappily 
experienced  in  the  case  of  the  town  of  Boston,  when  the  ears 
of  the  administration  have  been  shut  against  every  attempt 
to  vindicate  a  people  who  claimed  only  the  right  of  being 
heard  in  their  own  defence. 

"  That,  therefore,  until  we  obtain  an  explicit  declaration 
and  acknowledgment  of  our  rights,  we  agree  to  stop  all  im 
ports  from  Great  Britain  after  the  first  day  of  January, 
1775 ;  and  that  we  will  not  export  any  of  our  commodities 
to  Great  Britain  after  the  first  day  of  October,  1775. 

*'  That  they  concur  with  the  deputies  or  Delegates  from 
the  other  Colonies  in  such  regulations,  addresses,  or  remon 
strances  as  may  be  deemed  most  probable  to  restore  a  last 
ing  harmony  and  good  understanding  with  Great  Britain— a 
circumstance  we  most  sincerely  and  ardently  desire;  and 
that  they  agree  with  the  majority  of  them  in  all  necessary 
measures  for  promoting  a  redress  of  such  grievances  as  may 
come  under  their  consideration. 

"  4  Eesolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  meeting  be  given  to 
the  Honorable  John  Harvey,  Esq.,  moderator,  for  his  faith 
ful  exercises  of  that  office  and  the  services  he  has  thereby 
rendered  to  this  Province  and  the  friends  of  America  in  gen 
eral.'  JOHN  HARVEY,  Moderator" 

Association  Signed  by  Ladies  of  Edenton,  N.  C. 

"October  25,  1774. 

"  As  we  cannot  be  indifferent  on  any  occasion  to  that  which 
appears  to  affect  the  peace  and  happiness  of  our  country;  and 
as  it  has  been  thought  necessary,  for  the  public  good,  to  en 
ter  into  several  particular  resolves  by  a  meeting  of  numbers 
of  deputies  from  the  whole  Province — it  is  a  duty  that  we 
owe,  not  only  to  our  near  and  dear  relations  and  connec 
tions,  but  to  ourselves,  who  are  essentially  interested  in 
their  welfare,  to  do  everything  as  far  as  lies  in  our  power, 
to  testify  our  sincere  adherence  .to  the  same :  and  we  do 
therefore  accordingly  subscribe  this  paper  as  a  witness  of 
our  fixed  intention  and  solemn  determination  to  do  so," 

Signed  by  fifty-one  laclies, 


308  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

On  the  advice  of  the  Council,  Governor  Martin  issued 
the  following  proclamation: 

"Whereas,  I  have  received  information  that,  in  conse 
quence  of  an  advertisement,  signed  John  Harvey,  modera 
tor,  some  time  since  published  and  dispersed  through  this 
Province,  sundry  persons  have  been  elected  by  a  small  num 
ber  of  freeholders  in  the  several  counties,  to  meet  in  conven 
tion  in  the  town  of  Newbern  on  this  day  for  the  choice  of 
deputies  to  represent  this  Colony  in  a  Congress  intended  to  be 
held  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  month  of  May  next ; 
and  whereas,  The  meeting  of  such  convention,  and  the  de 
clared  purpose  thereof,  will  be  highly  offensive  to  the 
King  and  dishonorable  to  the  general  Assembly  of  this  Prov 
ince,  which  is  appointed  to  sit  at  this  time  for  the  dispatch 
of  public  business:  I  have  thereof  thought  fit,  with  the 
advice  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  to  issue  this  proclamation 
hereby  in  the  King's  name,  to  forbid  the  holding  of  the  said 
convention.  And  I  do  exhort  all  his  Majesty's  subjects,  on 
their  allegiance,  and  on  pain  of  incurring  his  Majesty's  high 
displeasure,  to  withdraw  themselves  from  the  same,  and  to 
desist  from  all  such  illegal,  unwarrantable,  and  dangerous 
proceedings. 

"Given,  etc.,  the  3d  day  of  April,  1775. 

"  God  save  the  King.  Jo.  MARTIN." 

The  convention  met  nevertheless,  and  was  composed 
mainly  of  the  members  of  the  Assembly,  which  was  to  meet 
two  days  later  at  the  same  place.  The  following  resolution 
of  the  Assembly  led  to  its  instant  prorogation : 

"Resolved,  That  the  House  do  highly  approve  of  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  Continental  Congress,  lately  held  at  Phila 
delphia;  and  that  they  are  determined,  as  members  of  the 
community  in  general,  that  they  will  strictly  adhere  to  the 
said  resolutions,  and  will  use  what  influence  they  have  to 
induce  the  same  observance  in  every  individual  of  this 
Colony. 

"This  House,  having  received  information  that  William 
Hooper,  Joseph  Hewes,  and  Eichard  Caswell,  Esquires, 
were  appointed,  by  the  convention  held  at  Newbern,  as  Del 
egates  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  Continental  Congress 
soon  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia, — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  House  approve  of  the  choice  made  by 
the  said  convention. 

"Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  House  be  given  to 
William  Hooper,  Joseph  Hewes,  and  Richard  Caswell,  Es 
quires,  for  the  faithful  and  judicious  discharge  of  the  im 
portant  trust  reposed  in  them  as  Delegates  for  this  Colony  at 
the  late  Continental  Congress." 

"  At  a  Council  held  at  the  Council  Chamber,  the  7th  of 
April,  1775,  in  the  evening,  present:  His  Excellency  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPVBLIC.  309 

Governor,  the  Honorable  James  Hasell,  John  Eutherford, 
Lewis  H.  de  Rossett,  Alexander  McCulloch,  Samuel  Strud- 
wick,  Martin  Howard,  Samuel  Cornell,  and  Thomas  Mc- 
Guire,  Esquires; 

"His  Excellency  laid  before  the  board  the  Journals  of 
the  House  of  Assembly,  in  which  was  contained,  amongst 
other  unwarrantable  proceedings,  the  following  resolve: 

"  *  Resolved,  That  the  House  do  highly  approve  of  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  Continental  Congress,  lately  held  at  Philadel 
phia,  and  that  they  are  determined,  as  members  of  the  com 
munity  in  general,  that  they  will  strictly  adhere  to  the  said 
resolutions,  and  will  use  what  influence  they  have  to  induce 
the  same  observance  in  every  individual  in  this  Colony.' 

"Upon  consideration  hereof,  this  board  gave  it  as  their 
opinion  that  the  longer  existence  of  such  a  House  of  Assem 
bly  is  incompatible  with  the  honor  of  the  Crown  and  the 
safety  of  the  people,  and  therefore  unanimously  advised  his 
Excellency  to  dissolve  them,  which  was  done  by  the  follow 
ing  proclamation : 

"'  NORTH  CAROLINA.  }-ss.: 

" '  By  his  Excellency  Josiah  Martin,  Esquire,  etc. 
"'A  PROCLAMATION. 

'"Whereas,  Several  resolves  appear  on  the  Journals  of  the 
House  of  Assembly,  now  sitting,  tending  to  alienate  the  af 
fections  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  and  subvert  the  Constitu 
tion;  and  whereas,  The  longer  existence  of  such  an  Assembly 
is  incompatible  with  the  safety  of  the  people :  I  have  there 
fore  thought  fit,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  his 
Majesty's  Council,  to  dissolve  the  said  Assembly;  and  it  is 
accordingly  dissolved. 

"  'Given  under  my  hand,  etc.,  at  Newbern,  etc.,  this  8th 
day  of  April,  1775,  etc. 

"  '  God  save  the  King.  Jo.  MARTIN.'" 

The  following  proceedings  took  place  in  the  convention: 

"  Wednesday,  April  5.  1775. 

"  The  convention  met  according  to  adjournment. 

"  Mr.  Jonathan  Hearring,  one  of  the  Delegates  for  Pasquo- 
tank  county,  and  Mr.  David  Stanley,  one  of  the  Delegates  for 
Bertie  county,  appeared  and  took  their  seats  in  convention. 
The  Association  entered  into  by  the  general  Congress  at 
Philadelphia  on  the  20th  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1774,  and  signed  by  the  members  thereof,  was  pre 
sented  to  this  convention  by  Colonel  Richard  Caswell,  and, 
on  motion,  was  ordered  to  be  read,  and  was  accordingly 
read. 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention  do  highly  approve  of 
the  said  Association,  and  do  for  themselves  firmly  agree  to 
adhere  to  the  said  Association,  and  recommend  it  to  their 


310  THE  BIRTH  Off  THE  REPUBLIC. 

constituents  that  they  likewise  adhere  firmly  to  the  same. 
In  full  approbation  and  testimony  whereof,  the  members 
of  this  Convention  subscribe  their  names. 

JAMES  HARVEY." 

"Friday,  April  7,  1775. 

"The  Convention  met  according  to  adjournment. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  moderator  of  this  Convention,  and, 
in  case  of  his  death,  Mr.  Samuel  Johnson,  be  empowered,  on 
any  future  occasion  that  may  in  his  opinion  require  it,  to 
direct  Delegates  to  be  chosen  for  the  respective  counties  and 
towns  in  this  Province  to  meet  in  convention  in  the  town 
of  Hillsborough,  at  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper  to 
appoint ;  and  in  case  that  the  members  of  the  majority  of 
the  counties  and  towns  do  not  appear  at  the  day  appointed, 
that  he  be  empowered  to  adjourn  the  Convention  de  die  in 
diem  until  a  sufficient  number  shall  appear. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  clerk  furnish  Mr.  James  Davis  with 
a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  this  Convention,  and  that  Mr. 
Davis  print  the  same. 

"'Resolved,  That  this  Convention  do  most  heartily  ap 
prove  of  the  conduct  and  proceedings  of  the  late  Continental 
Congress,  and  will  endeavor  to  carry  into  execution  the 
measures  by  them  recommended ;  and  that  the  most  earnest 
wishes  and  desires  of  this  Convention  are  to  see  harmony 
restored  between  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies  on  honor 
able  and  Constitutional  principles,  which  alone  can  give  the 
same  a  lasting  foundation;  that  we  will  exert  our  utmost 
endeavors  towards  completing  this  important  purpose,  and 
are  of  opinion  that  the  late  commercial  regulations  are  the 
most  eligible  means  for  attaining  that  desirable  end. 

'"And  whereas,  The  freedom,  happiness,  and  prosperity 
of  every  state  greatly  depends  on  providing  within  itself  ar 
ticles  necessary  for  subsistence,  clothing,  and  defence  of  its 
inhabitants,— 

'  -  Resolved,  That  from  common  prudence  and  regard  for 
this  Colony,  we  will  encourage  arts,  manufactures,  agri 
culture,  and  every  kind  of  economy,  and  use  our  influence 
for  the  same  purpose  with  our  constituents  and  all  connected 
with  us ;  and  we  recommend  to  the  committees  of  the  sev 
eral  counties  to  propose  premiums  to  the  inhabitants  whose 
industry  may  be  a  proper  subject  for  their  bounty,  in  such 
manner  as  to  them  shall  seem  meet. 

"'Resolved,  That  his  Majesty's  subjects  have  an  un 
doubted  right  at  any  time  to  meet  and  petition  the  Throne 
for  a  redress  of  grievances,  and  that  such  right  includes  a 
further  right  of  appointing  Delegates  for  such  purpose ;  and 
therefore  that  the  Governor's  proclamation  issued  to  for 
bid  this  meeting,  and  his  proclamation  afterwards  com 
manding  this  meeting  to  disperse,  are  illegal  and  an  in- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  311 

fringement  of  our  just  rights,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  dis 
regarded  as  wanton  and  arbitrary  exertions  of  power.'" 

Mecklenburg  County. 

Mecklenburg  county,  North  Carolina,  is  entitled  to  the 
imperishable  honor  of  haying,  in  May,  1775,  taken  a  step  in 
advance  of  all  the  Colonists,  in  setting  up  a  government 
entirely  independent  of  the  British  Crown  and  Parliament. 
The  following  resolves  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  that 
county,  while  they  constitute  the  charter  of  a  new  local 
government,  at  the  same  time  enunciate  principles  which 
approximate  independence  more  nearly  than  any  similar 
manifestation  that  preceded  them.  It  is  proper  to  remark 
that  these  resolves  are  in  no  way  involved  in  the  contro 
versy  which  has  existed  for  seventy  years,  in  regard  to  the 
genuineness  of  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  May  20, 
1775 ;  for  the  resolves  of  May  31st  are  still  extant  in  several 
newspapers  printed  in  1775,  north  and  south,  and  may  be 
seen  thus  preserved  in  the  Congress  and  other  public  li 
braries. 

The  "  Declaration"  of  May  20th,  is  also  given  below,  as  it 
was  first  published  in  the  Ealeigh  Register,  of  April  30,  1819 : 

"  (From  the  State  Paper  Office,  London,  Geo.  Vol.  218.) 
"  (G.  Bancroft's  Collection,  1775,  page  107.) 

"  Gov.  Wright  to  Secretary  of  State. 

"  SAVANNAH,  GEORGIA,  20th  June,  1775. 
"  (In  his  own  handwriting.) 

"By  the  enclosed  paper  your  Lordship  will  see  the  extra 
ordinary  resolves  by  the  people  in  Charlotte  town,  in  Meck 
lenburg  county ;  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  the  same 
were  done  everywhere  else. 

4  *  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  perfect  esteem, 
"  My  Lord,  your  Lordship's  most 

"Obliged  and  obedient  servant, 

"JAS.  WRIGHT. 

"To  the  EARL  OF  DARTMOUTH." 

Extract  from  the  South  Carolina  Gazette  and  County 
Journal  of  June,  1775,  No.  498,  printed  at  Charlestown,  by 
Charles  Crouch  on  the  Bay,  corner  of  Elliott  Street.  [The 
first  four  and  the  16th  of  these  resolves  were  found  by  Mr. 
Peter  Force  in  the  New  York  Journal  of  July  1775,  and  the 
whole  series  were  found,  as  above  stated,  by  Mr.  Bancroft, 
in  the  State  Paper  Office,  in  London] 

"  CHARLOTTETOWN,  Mecklenburg  County,  ) 
May  31,  1775.  \ 

"This  day  the  Committee  met  and  passed  the  following 
resolves : 

"'Whereas,  By  an  address  presented  to  his  Majesty  by 


313  THE  J3IRTI1  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

both  Houses  of  Parliament  in  February  last,  the  American 
Colonies  are  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of  actual  rebellion,  we 
conceive  that  all  laws  and  commissions  confirmed  by  or  de 
rived  from  the  authority  of  the  King  and  Parliament  are 
annulled  and  vacated,  and  the  former  civil  Constitution  of 
these  Colonies  for  the  present  wholly  suspended.  To  pro 
vide  in  some  degree  for  the  exigencies  of  this  county  in  the 
present  alarming  period,  we  deem  it  proper  and  necessary 
to  pass  the  following  resolves,  viz. : 

*'  '1.  That  all  commissions,  civil  and  military,  heretofore 
granted  by  the  Crown  to  be  exercised  in  these  Colonies,  are 
null  and  void,  and  the  Constitution  of  each  particular 
county  wholly  suspended. 

"  '2.  That  the  Provincial  Congress  of  each  Province, 
under  the  direction  of  the  great  Continental  Congress,  is 
invested  with  all  legislative  and  executive  powers  within 
their  respective  Provinces,  and  that  no  other  legislative  or 
executive  power  does  or  can  exist  at  this  time  in  any  of 
these  Colonies. 

" '  3.  As  all  former  laws  are  now  suspended  in  this  Prov 
ince,  and  the  Congress  has  not  yet  provided  others,  we 
judge  it  necessary,  for  the  better  preservation  of  good  order, 
to  form  certain  rules  and  regulations  for  the  internal  gov 
ernment  of  this  county  until  laws  shall  be  provided  for 
us  by  the  Congress. 

"  14.  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  county  do  meet  on  a 
certain  day  appointed  by  the  committee,  and,  having  formed 
themselves  into  nine  companies  (to  wit,  eight  for  the  county 
and  one  for  the  town),  do  choose  a  colonel  and  other  military 
officers  who  shall  hold  and  exercise  their  several  powers,  by 
virtue  of  the  choice,  and  independent  of  the  Crown  of  Great 
Britain  and  former  Constitution  of  this  Province. 

"  *  5.  That  for  the  better  preservation  of  the  peace  and 
administration  of  justice  each,  of  those  companies  do  choose 
from  their  own  body  two  discreet  freeholders,  who  shall  be 
empowered,  each  by  himself  and  singly,  to  decide  and  deter 
mine  all  matters  of  controversy,  arising  within  said  com 
pany,  under  the  sum  of  twenty  shillings,  and  jointly  and 
together  all  controversies  under  the  sum  of  forty  shillings; 
yet  so  as  their  decisions  may  admit  of  appeal  to  the  Conven 
tion  of  Select-men  of  the  County,  and  also  that  any  one  of 
these  men  shall  have  power  to  examine  and  commit  to  con 
finement  persons  accused  of  petit  larceny.' 

"  *  6.  That  those  two  select-men  thus  chosen  do  jointly 
and  together  choose  from  the  body  of  their  particular  com 
pany  two  persons  to  act  as  constables,  who  may  assist  them 
in  the  execution  of  their  office. 

"  '7.  That  upon  the  complaint  of  any  persons  to  either  of 
these  select-men,  he  do  issue  his  warrant  directed  to  the  con- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  813 

stable,  commanding  him  to  bring  the  aggressor  before  him 
to  answer  said  complaint. 

"'8.  That  these  eighteen  select-men  thus  appointed  do 
meet  every  third  Thursday  in  January,  April,  July,  and 
October,  at  the  Court-house  in  Charlotte,  to  hear  and  deter 
mine  all  matters  of  controversy  for  sums  exceeding  forty 
shillings ;  also  appeals ;  and  in  case  of  felony,  to  commit  the 
persons  convicted  thereof  to  close  confinement  until  the 
Provincial  Congress  shall  provide  and  establish  laws  and 
modes  of  proceeding  in  all  such  cases. 

"'9.  That  these  eighteen  select-nien  thus  convened  do 
choose  a  clerk  to  record  the  transactions  of  said  convention 
and  that  said  clerk,  upon  the  application  of  any  person  or 
persons  aggrieved,  do  issue  his  warrant,  to  any  of  the  con 
stables  of  the  company  to  which  the  offender  belongs,  di 
recting  said  constable  to  summon  and  warn  said  offender  to 
appear  before  said  convention  at  their  next  sitting,  to  answer 
the  aforesaid  complaint. 

"  '  10.  That  any  person  making  complaint,  upon  oath  to  the 
clerk  or  any  member  of  the  convention,  that  he  has  reason 
to  suspect  that  any  person  or  persons,  indebted  to  him  in  a 
sum  above  forty  shillings,  intend  clandestinely  to  withdraw 
from  the  county  without  paying  the  debt,  the  clerk  or  such 
member  shall  issue  his  warrant  to  the  constable,  command 
ing  him  to  take  said  person  or  persons  into  safe  custody  until 
the  next  sitting  of  the  convention. 

"  '  11.  That  when  a  debtor  for  a  sum  above  forty  shillings 
shall  abscond  and  leave  the  country,  the  warrant  granted  as 
aforesaid  shall  extend  to  any  goods  or  chattels  of  said  debtor 
as  may  be  found ;  and  such  goods  or  chattels  be  seized  and 
held  in  custody  by  the  constable  for  the  space  of  thirty  days ; 
in  which  time,  if  the  debtor  fail  to  return  and  discharge  the 
debt,  the  constable  shall  return  the  warrant  to  one  of  the 
select-men  of  the  company  where  the  goods  are  found,  who 
shall  issue  orders  to  the  constable  to  sell  such  a  part  of  said 
goods  as  shall  amount  to  the  sum  due.  That  when  the  debt 
exceeds  forty  shillings,  the  return  shall  be  made  to  the  con 
vention,  who  shall  issue  orders  for  sale. 

"  '  12.  That  all  receivers  and  collectors'of  quit  rents,  public 
and  county  taxes,  do  pay  the  same  into  the  hands  of  the 
chairman  of  this  committee  to  be  by  them  disbursed  as  the 
public  exigencies  may  require ;  and  that  such  receivers  and 
collectors  proceed  no  further  in  their  office  until  they  be  ap 
proved  of  by  and  have  given  to  this  committee  good  and 
sufficient  security  for  a  faithful  return  of  such  moneys  when 
collected. 

'"13.  That  the  committee  be  accountable  to  the  county  for 
the  application  of  all  moneys  received  from  puch  public  of 
ficers. 


314  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"  *  14.  That  all  these  officers  hold  their  commissions  during 
the  pleasure  of  their  several  constituents. 

**  '15.  That  this  committee  will  sustain  all  damages  to  all  or 
any  of  their  officers  thus  appointed  and  thus  acting  on 
account  of  their  obedience  and  conformity  to  these  rules. 

"  '16.  That  whatever  person  shall  hereafter  receive  a  com 
mission  from  the  Crown,  or  attempt  to  exercise  any  such 
commission  heretofore  received,  shall  be  deemed  an  enemy 
to  his  country;  and  upon  confirmation  being  made  to  the 
captain  of  the  company  in  which  he  resides,  the  said  com 
pany  shall  cause  him.  to'foe  apprehended  and  conveyed  before 
two  select-men,  who,  upon  proof  of  the  fact,  shall  commit 
said  offender  to  safe  custody  until  the  next  sitting  of  the  com 
mittee,  who  shall  deal  with  him  as  prudence  may  direct. 

"  '  17.  That  any  person  refusing  to  yield  obedience  to  the 
above  rules,  shall  be  considered  equally  criminal,  and  liable  to 
the  same  punishment  as  the  offenders  above  last  mentioned. 

"  *  18.  That  these  resolves  be  in  full  force  and  virtue  until 
instructions  from  the  Provincial  Congress  regulating  the 
jurisprudence  of  the  Province  shall  provide  otherwise,  or 
the  legislative  body  of  Great  Britain  resign  its  unjust  and 
arbitrary  pretensions  with  respect  to  America. 

*"  19.  That  the  eight  militia  companies  in  this  county  "pro 
vide  themselves  with  proper  arms  and  accoutrements,  and 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  execute  the  commands  and 
directions  of  the  general  Congress  of  this  Province  and  this 
committee. 

"'20.  That  the  committee  appoint  Col.  Thomas  Polk  and 
Dr.  Joseph  Kennedy  to  purchase  300  pounds  of  powder,  600 
pounds  of  lead,  1000  flints,  for  the  use  of  the  militia  of  this 
county,  and  deposit  the  same  in  such  place  as  the  committee 
hereafter  may  direct.' 

"  Signed,  by  order  of  the  committee, 

"Era.  BREVARD, 
"  Clerk  of  the  Committee. 

Extract  from  the  Proclamation  of  Governor  Martin. 
Dated,  August  the  8th,  1774. 
"  NORTH  CAROLINA,  ss.: 

"By  his  Excellency  Josiah  Martin,  Esq.,  his  Majesty's 
Captain,  General,  Governor,  and  Commander-in-chief  in  and 
over  the  said  Province : 

"  And  whereas,  I  have  also  seen  a  most  infamous  publica 
tion  in  the  Cape  Fear  Mercury,  importing  to  be  resolves  of  a 
set  of  people  styling  themselves  a  Committee  for  the  County 
of  Mecklenburg,  most  traitorously  declaring  the  entire  disso 
lution  of  the  laws,  government,  and  Constitution  of  this 
county,  and  setting  up  a  system  of  rule  and  regulation  re 
pugnant  to  the  laws  and  subversive  of  his  Majesty's  gov- 


THE  BIRTH  OP  THE  REPUBLIC.  315 

ernment;  and  another  publication  in  the  Cape  Fear  Mercury 
of  the  fourteenth  of  last  month,  addressed,  '  To  the  Commit 
tees  of  the  Several  Towns  and  Counties  of  North  Carolina, 
Appointed  for  the  Purpose  of  Carrying  into  Execution  the  Re 
solves  of  the  Continental  Congress,'  bearing  date  at  Philadel 
phia,  June  19th,  1775,  and  signed  William  Hooper,  Joseph 
Hewes,  and  Richard  Caswell,  the  preposterous  enormity  of 
which  cannot  be  adequately  described  and  abhorred." 

The  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  following  is  the  "Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,'1  the  genuineness  of  which  has  given  rise  to  much 
controversy.  It  was  first  published,  April  30,  1819,  as  will 
be  seen  from  the  Raleigh  Register  of  that  date : 

u  It  is  not  probably  known  to  many  of  our  readers  "  says 
the  Register,  "that  the  citizens  of  Mecklenburg  county,  in 
this  State,  made  a  Declaration  of  Independence  more  than  a 
year  before  Congress  made  theirs.  The  following  document 
on  the  subject  has  lately  come  to  the  hands  of  the  editor 
from  unquestionable  authority,  and  is  published  that  it  may 
go  down  to  posterity : 

"  'NORTH  CAROLINA,  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY,  May  20,  1775. 

"  '  In  the  spring  of  1775,  the  leading  characters  of  Mecklen 
burg  county,  stimulated  by  that  enthusiastic  patriotism 
which  elevates  the  mind  above  considerations  of  individual 
aggrandizement,  and  scorning  to  shelter  themselves  from 
the  impending  storm  by  submission  to  lawless  power,  etc., 
etc.,  held  several  detached  meetings,  in  each  of  which  the 
individual  sentiments  were  "  that  the  cause  of  Boston  was 
the  cause  of  all ;  that  their  destinies  were  indissolubly  con 
nected  with  those  of  their  eastern  fellow-citizens;  and  that 
they  must  either  submit  to  all  the  impositions  which  an 
unprincipled  and,  to  them,  an  unrepresented  Parliament 
might  impose ;  or  support  their  brethren  who  were  doomed 
to  sustain  the  first  shock  of  that  power,  which,  if  success 
ful  there,  would  ultimately  overwhelm  all  in  the  common 
calamity."  Conformably  to  these  principles,  Colonel  Adam 
Alexander,  through  solicitation,  issued  an  order  to  each 
captain's  company  in  the  county  of  Mecklenburg,  (then 
comprising  the  present  county  of  Cabarrus),  directing  each 
militia  company  to  elect  two  persons  and  delegate  to  them 
ample  power  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  aid  and  assist 
their  suffering  brethren  in  Boston,  and  also  generally  to 
adopt  measures  to  extricate  themselves  from  the  impending 
storm,  and  to  secure  unimpaired,  their  inalienable  rights, 
privileges,  and  liberties  from  the  dominant  grasp  of  British 
imposition  and  tyranny. 

"  '  In  conformity  to  said  order,  on  the  19th  of  May,  1775, 
the  said  delegation  met  in  Charlotte,  vested  with  unlimited 


316  TUE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

powers ;  at  which  time  official  news  by  express  arrived  of 
the  battle  of  Lexington  on  that  day  of  the  preceding  month. 

"  'Every  Delegate  felt  the  value  and  importance  of  the 
prize  and  the  awful  and  solemn  crisis  which  had  arrived ; 
every  bosom  swelled  with  indignation  at  the  malice,  invet 
eracy,  and  insatiable  revenge  developed  in  the  late  attack 
at  Lexington.  The  universal  sentiment  was:  Let  us  not 
flatter  ourselves  that  popular  harangues  or  resolves,  that 
popular  vapor,  will  avert  the  storm  or  vanquish  our  common 
enemy;  let  us  deliberate;  let  us  calculate  the  issue,  the 
probable  result ;  and  then  let  us  act  with  energy  as  brethren 
leagued  to  preserve  our  property,  our  lives,  and,  what  is 
still  more  endearing,  the  liberties  of  America.  Abraham 
Alexander  was  then  elected  chairman,  and  John  McKnitt 
Alexander,  clerk.  After  a  free  and  full  discussion  of  the 
various  objects  for  which  the  delegation  had  been  convened, 
it  was  unanimously  ordained : 

"  *  1.  Resolved,  That  whoever  directly  or  indirectly  abetted 
or  in  any  way,  form,  or  manner  countenanced  the  unchar- 
tered  and  dangerous  invasion  of  our  rights  as  claimed  by 
Great  Britain,  is  an  enemy  to  this  country,  to  America,  and 
to  the  inherent  and  unalienable  rights  of  man. 

"  '2.  Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  the  Mecklenburg 
county,  do  hereby  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have 
connected  us  to  the  mother-country,  and  hereby  absolve 
ourselves  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown,  and 
abjure  all  political  connection  contract,  or  association  with 
that  nation  who  have  wantonly  trampled  on  our  rights  and 
liberties,  and  inhumanly  shed  the  innocent  blood  of  Ameri 
can  patriots  at  Lexington. 

"'3.  Resolved,  That  we  do  hereby  declare  ourselves  a 
free  and  independent  people,  are  and  of  right  ought  to  be  a 
sovereign  and  self-governing  association,  under  the  control 
of  no  power  other  than  that  of  our  God  and  the  general 
government  of  the  Congress ;  to  the  maintainance  of  which 
independence  we  solemnly  pledge  to  each  other  our  mutual 
co-operation,  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  most  sacred 
honor. 

"  '  4.  Resolved,  That  as  we  now  acknowledge  the  exist 
ence  and  control  of  no  law  or  legal  officer,  civil  or  military, 
within  this  county,  we  do  hereby  ordain  and  adopt,  as  a 
rule  of  life,  all,  each  and  every  of  our  former  laws ;  wherein, 
nevertheless,  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  never  can  be  con 
sidered  as  holding  rights,  privileges,  immunities,  or  author 
ity  therein. 

"  *  5.  Resolved,  That  it  is  also  further  decreed  that  all, 
each,  and  every  military  officer  in  this  county  is  hereby  re 
instated  to  his  former  command  and  authority,  he  acting 
comformably  to  these  regulations ;  and  that  every  member 
present  of  this  delegation  shall  henceforth  be  a  civil  officer, 


THE  BIRTH  OP  THE  REPUBLIC.  317 

viz.,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  in  the  character  of  a  "commit- 
teeman,"  to  issue  process,  hear  and  determine  all  matters  of 
controversy  according  to  said  adopted  laws,  and  to  preserve 
peace  and  union  and  harmony  in  said  county ;  and  to  use 
every  exertion  to  spread  the  love  of  country  and  fire  of 
freedom  throughout  America,  until  a  more  general  and 
organized  government  be  established  in  this  Province." 

Newbern  (N.  C.)  Committee. 

"  IN  COMMITTEE,  ) 
Aug.  5,  1775.      J 

"  From  the  late  conduct  of  Governor  Martin  at  Fort  John 
ston,  and  intelligence  since  received  by  this  committee,  it 
appears  he  intends  erecting  a  king's  standard,  and  com 
mencing  hostilities  against  the  people  of  this  Province. 

"It  is  therefore  resolved,  That  no  person  or  persons 
whatsoever  have  any  correspondence  with  him,  either  by 
personal  communication  or  letter,  on  pain  of  being  deemed 
enemies  to  the  liberties  of  America,  and  dealt  with  accord 
ingly. 

' '  And  that  no  person  or  persons  presume  to  remove  him 
or  themselves  from  hence  to  Core  Sound,  or  any  other  part 
of  the  Province,  where  the  Governor  resides,  without  leave 
of  this  committee,  as  he  or  they  will  not  be  suffered  to  re 
turn  here. 

"  By  order,  B.  COGDELL,  Chairman." 

Try  on  County  (N.  C.)  Association. 

"  August  14,  1775. 

"The  unprecedented,  barbarous,  and  bloody  actions  com 
mitted  by  the  British  troops  on  our  American  brethren, 
near  Boston  on  the  19th  of  April  and  20th  of  May  last, 
together  with  the  hostile  operations  and  treacherous  designs 
now  carrying  on  by  the  tools  of  Ministerial  vengeance  and 
despotism  for  the  subjugating  all  British  America,  suggest 
to  us  the  painful  necessity  of  having  recourse  to  arms  for 
the  preservation  of  those  rights  and  liberties  which  the 
principles  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  of  God,  nature, 
and  nations  have  made  it  our  duty  to  defend. 

"We  therefore,  the  subscribers,  freeholders  and  inhabi 
tants  of  Tryon  county,  do  hereby  faithfully  unite  ourselves 
under  the  most  sacred  ties  of  religion,  honor,  and  love  to 
our  country,  firmly  to  resist  force  by  force,  in  defence  of  our 
natural  freedom  and  Constitutional  rights  against  all  inva 
sions;  and  at  the  same  time  do  solemnly  engage  to  take  up 
arms  and  risk  our  lives  and  fortunes  in  maintaining  the 
freedom  of  our  country  whenever  the  wisdom  and  counsel 
of  the  Continental  Congress  or  our  Provincial  Convention 
shall  declare  it  necessary ;  and  this  engagement  we  will  con- 


318  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

tinue  in  and  hold  sacred  till  a  reconciliation  shall  take  place 
between  Great  Britain  and  America  on  Constitutional  prin 
ciples,  which  we  most  ardently  desire,  and  we  do  firmly 
agree  to  hold  all  such  persons  inimical  to  the  liberties  of 
America  who  shall  refuse  to  subscribe  to  this  Association." 
Signed  by  forty-eight  names. 

Newbern  (N.  C.)  Committee. 

11  COMMITTEE  CHAMBER,      j 
NEWBERN,  August  14,  1775.  f 

"  Whereas,  All  those  who  have  not  subscribed  the  Articles 
of  Association  have  sufficiently  testified  to  the  public  that 
they  are  enemies  to  the  liberties  of  America;  and  as  the 
principles  of  self-preservation  make  it  absolutely  necessary 
that  they  should  be  deprived  of  their  arms :  therefore  it  is 

'  *  Ordered,  That  the  captains  of  the  several  companies  in  this 
county  and  town  require,  of  all  such  suspected  persons,  as 
well  their  fire-arms,  as  swords,  cutlasses,  etc.,  etc.,  and  all 
gunpowder,  lead,  and  other  military  stores;  and  that  the 
said  several  captains  be  empowered  to  give  receipt  for  all 
such  guns,  etc.,  etc.,  and  deliver  them  out  to  such  persons 
of  his  or  their  company  not  having  arms,  etc.,  etc.,  as  may 
be  willing  to  serve  in  the  American  cause. 

"By  order,  R.  COGDELL,  Chairman" 

The  Congress  at  Hillsborough. 

The  Provincial  Congress  met  again  at  Hillsborough,  on 
the  21st  August,  pursuant  to  a  call  by  Samuel  Johnston, 
as  provided  for  at  its  first  sitting  at  Newbern  in  April.  On 
Wednesday,  the  23d  August,  the  following  proceedings  took 
place.  The  Association  entered  into  by  the  General  Con 
gress  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  20th  day  of  October,  1774,  and 
signed  by  the  members  thereof,  was  read : 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Congress  do  highly  approve  of  the 
said  Association,  and  do  for  themselves  firmly  agree  and 
promise  to  adhere  thereto,  and  do  recommend  it  to  their 
constituents  that  they  likewise  adhere  firmly  thereto.' 

The  Committee  was  directed  to  prepare  and  bring  in  a 
test  for  the  members  of  the  Congress  to  sign,  reported  that 
they  had  prepared  a  test,  which  they  begged  leave  to  lay 
before  the  Congress  for  approbation. 

"  Ordered,  The  same  be  read ;  which  was  accordingly  read, 
approved  of,  and  ordered  to  be  entered  on  the  Journals  and 
signed." 

It  is  as  follows : 

"We,  the  subscribers,  professing  our  allegiance  to  the 
King,  and  acknowledging  the  constitutional  executive  pow 
er  of  government,  do  solemnly  profess,  testify,  and  declare 
that  we  do  absolutely  believe  that  neither  the  Parliament  of 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  319 

Great  Britain,  nor  any  member  or  constituent  branch  there 
of,  have  a  right  to  impose  taxes  upon  these  Colonies,  or  to 
regulate  the  internal  police  thereof;  and  that  all  attempts 
by  fraud  or  force  to  establish  and  exercise  such  claims  and 
powers  are  violations  of  the  peace  and  security  of  the  peo 
ple,  and  ought  to  be  resisted  to  the  utmost:  and  that  the 
rple  of  this  Province,  singly  and  collectively,  are  bound 
the  acts  and  resolutions  of  the  Continental  and  Provin 
cial  Congresses;  because  in  both  they  are  freely  represented 
by  persons  chosen  by  themselves;  and  we  do  solemnly  and 
sincerely  promise  and  engage,  under  the  sanction  of  virtue, 
honour,  and  the  sacred  love  of  liberty  and  our  country,  to 
maintain  and  support  all  and  every  the  acts,  resolutions, 
and  regulations  of  the  said  Continental  and  Provincial  Ccn- 
gresses  to  the  utmost  of  our  power  and  abilities.  In  testi 
mony  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  this  23d  of 
August,  1775." 

Committees  of  Wilmington  District,  North  Carolina. 

"  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  several  committees  of  the 
district  of  Wilmington,  held  at  the  Court-house  in  Wilming 
ton,  Tuesday,  the  20th  June,  1775,— 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  following  association  stand  as  the 
association  of  this  committee,  and  that  it  be  recommended 
to  the  inhabitants  of  this  district  to  sign  the  same  as  speed 
ily  as  possible : 

" '  "THE  ASSOCIATION. 

"  *  "The  actual  commencement  of  hostilities  against  the 
continent  by  the  British  troops  in  the  bloody  scene  on  the 
19th  of  April  last  near  Boston,  the  increase  of  arbitrary 
impositions  from  a  wicked  and  despotic  Ministry,  and  the 
dread  of  instigated  insurrections  in  the  Colonies  are  causes 
sufficient  to  drive  an  oppressed  people  to  the  use  of  arms : 
We,  therefore,  the  subscribers,  of  Cumberland  county,  hold 
ing  ourselves  bound  by  that  most  sacred  of  all  obligations, 
the  duty  of  good  citizens  towards  an  injured  country,  and 
thoroughly  convinced  that  under  our  distressed  circum 
stances  we  shall  be  justified  before  you  in  resisting  force  by 
force,  do  unite  ourselves  under  every  tie  of  religion  and 
honour,  and  associate  as  a  band  in  her  defence  against  every 
foe;  hereby  solemnly  engaging  that  whenever  our  Conti 
nental  or  Provincial  Councils  shall  decree  it  necessary,  we 
will  go  forth  and  be  ready  to  sacrifice  our  lives  and  fortunes 
to  secure  her  freedom  and  safety. 

"  '  "This  obligation  to  continue  and  be  in  full  force  until 
a  reconciliation  shall  take  place  between  Great  Britain  and 
America  upon  Constitutional  principles— an  event  we  most 
ardently  desire.  And  we  will  hold  all  those  persons  inim 
ical  to  the  liberty  of  the  Colonies  who  shall  refuse  to  sub- 


320  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

scribe  to  this  Association ;  and  we  will  in  all  things  follow 
the  advice  of  our  general  committee  respecting  the  purposes 
aforesaid,  the  preservation  of  peace  and  good  order,  and 
the  safety  of  individual  and  private  property." ' 

''NORTH  CAROLINA  PROVINCIAL  CONGRESS,  | 
"Friday,  April  12,  1776.  \ 

"The  select  committee  to  take  into  consideration  the  usur 
pations  and  violences  attempted  and  committed  by  the  King 
and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  against  America,  and  the 
further  measures  to  be  taken  for  frustrating  the  same,  and 
for  the  better  defence  of  this  Province,  reported  as  follows, 
to  wit: 

" '  It  appears  to  your  committee  that,  pursuant  to  the  plan 
concerted  by  the  British  Ministry  for  subjugating  America, 
the  King  and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  have  usurped  a 
power  over  the  persons  and,  properties  of  the  people  unlim 
ited  and  uncontrolled,  and  disregarding  their  humble  peti 
tions  for  peace,  liberty,  and  safety,  have  made  divers  legis 
lative  acts  denouncing  war,  famine,  and  every  species  of 
calamity  against  the  continent  in  general ;  that  British  fleets 
and  armies  have  been  and  still  are  employed  in  destroying 
our  people  and  committing  the  most  horrid  devastations 
on  the  country ;  that  Governors  in  different  Colonies  have 
declared  protection  to  slaves  who  should  imbrue  their  hands 
in  the  blood  of  their  masters ;  that  the  ships  belonging  to 
America  are  declared  prizes  of  war,  and  many  of  them  have 
been  violently  seized  and  confiscated.  In  consequence  of 
which,  multitudes  of  the  people  have  been  destroyed,  or, 
from  easy  circumstances,  reduced  to  the  most  lamentable 
distress.  And  whereas.  The  moderation  hitherto  manifested 
by  the  united  Colonies,  and  their  sincere  desire  to  be  recon 
ciled  to  the  mother-country  on  Constitutional  principles, 
have  procured  no  mitigation  of  the  aforesaid  wrongs  and 
usurpations,  and  that  no  hopes  remain  of  obtaining  redress 
by  those  means  alone  which  have  been  hitherto  tried,  your 
committees  are  of  opinion  that  the  House  should  enter  into 
the  f ollowing  resolve,  to  wit : 

1 '  Eesolved,  That  the  Delegates  for  this  Colony  in  the 
Continental  Congress  be  empowered  to  concur  with  the  Del 
egates  of  the  other  Colonies  in  declaring  independency  and 
forming  foreign  alliances,  reserving  to  this  Colony  the  sole 
and  exclusive  right  of  forming  a  constitution  and  laws  for 
this  Colony,  and  of  appointing  Delegates  from  time  to  time 
(under  the  direction  of  a  general  representation  thereof)  to 
meet  the  Delegates  of  the  other  Colonies  for  such  purpose* 
as  shall  be  hereafter  pointed  out.' 

"The  Congress,  taking  the  samelnto  consideration,  unan 
imously  concurred  therewith, " 


THIS  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  321 

CHAPTER.  VI. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

IT  has  been  elsewhere  shown  that  South  Carolina  was 
among  the  foremost  Colonies  to  oppose  the  Stamp  Act,  and 
that  her  treatment  of  the  stamp-distributors  was  not  more 
ceremonious  than  the  similar  officers  in  more  northern  Col 
onies  had  met  with.  She  was  no  less  prompt  in  seconding 
the  determined  opposition  of  Massachusetts  to  the  tax  on 
tea  and  other  articles.  "As  for  South  Carolina,"  says  Ban 
croft,  "they  could  not  enough  praise  the  glorious  ninety- 
two  who  would  not  rescind ;  toasting  them  at  banquets,  and 
marching  by  night  through  the  streets  of  Charleston  in 
processions  to  their  honor,  by  the  blaze  of  two  and  ninety 
torches."  This  refers  to  the  vote  of  the  Massachusetts 
Assembly  in  June,  1768,  in  refusing,  at  the  command  of  the 
King,  to  rescind  their  former  resolutions  against  the  right 
of  Parliamentary  taxation. 

The  Earl  of  Hillsborough,  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  by 
instruction  from  the  King,  wrote  letters  to  the  Colonies  in 
November,  1768,  inclosing^  the  addresses  of  the  two  Houses 
of  Parliament  to  his  Majesty,  and  assuring  them  that  the 
King  would  not  listen  to  "the  views  of  wicked  men"  who 
questioned  the  supreme  authority  ot  that  body. 

"While  Hillsborough  was  setting  his  name  to  these 
papers,"  says  Bancroft,  "Montague,  the  Governor  of  South 
Carolina,  invited  its  Assembly  to  treat  the  letters  of  Massa 
chusetts  and  Virginia  with  the  contempt  they  deserved."  A 
committee  composed  of  Parsons,  Gadsden,  Pinckney,  Lloyd, 
Lynch,  Laurens,  Eutledge,  Elliott,  and  Dart  reported  them 
to  be  "founded  upon  undeniable  Constitutional  principles;" 
and  the  House  sitting  with  its  doors  locked,  unanimously 
directed  its  speaker  to  signify  to  both  Provinces  its  entire 
approbation.  Provoked  at  what  he  had  no  means  to  pre 
vent,  the  Governor,  that  same  evening,  dissolved  the  Assem 
bly  by  beat  of  drum ;  while  the  general  toast  at  Charleston 
remained,  "The  unanimous  twenty -six  who  would  not  re 
scind  from  the  Massachusetts  circular." 

South  Carolina  refused  compliance  with  the  Billeting  Act, 
directing  the  Colonial  legislatures  to  make  specific  contri 
butions  towards  the  support  of  the  army.  Her  people  also 
enforced  the  non-importation  agreement  by  publishing  the 
names  of  the  few  enemies  to  America  who  kept  aloof  from 
the  Association. 

In  December,  1773,  a  ship  arrived  at  Charleston  with  two 
hundred  and  fifty -seven  chests  of  tea.  "  The  spirit  of  oppo- 


322  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

sitipn  ran  very  high,  but  the  consignees  were  persuaded  to 
resign ;  so  that  the  collector,  after  the  twentieth  day,  seized 
the  dutiable  article,  there  being  no  one  to  vend  it  or  to  pay 
the  duty,  and  it  perished  in  the  cellars  where  it  was  stored." 
—Bancroft,  vol.  6. 

A  General  Meeting  Called.' 

"  CHARLESTOWN,  S.  C.,  June  13,  1774. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  General  Committee  this  day,  it  was 
unanimously  agreed,  That  a  general  meeting  of  the  inhab 
itants  of  this  Colony  be  called  on  Wednesday  the  6th  of 
July  next,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  the  Exchange 
in  Charleston,  to  consider  of  the  papers,  letters,  and  resolu 
tions  transmitted  to  the  committee  from  the  northern  Col 
onies  ;  and  also  of  such  steps  as  are  necessary  to  be  pursued 
in  union  with  the  inhabitants  of  all  our  sister-Colonies  on 
this  continent  in  order  to  avert  the  dangers  impending  over 
American  liberties  in  general  by  the  late  hostile  act  of  Par 
liament  against  Boston,  and  other  arbitrary  measures  of  the 
British  Ministry;  and  that  public  notice  thereof  be  imme 
diately  given  in  the  gazettes." 

Extract  of  a  Letter  to  a  Gentleman  in  New  York. 

"  CHARLESTOWN,  S.  C.,  13th  June,  1774. 

"Circular-letters  are  dispatched  by  express  to  all  the 
most  leading  men  throughout  this  Colony  in  order  to  re 
move  some  jealousies  which  have  been  industriously  excited 
to  acquaint  them  with  the  present  dangerous  situation  of 
every  American  and  his  posterity,  and  to  engage  their 
union,  assistance,  and  influence  in  their  several  districts,  to 
attend  eitheir  personally  or  by  deputies  authorized,  to  de 
clare  their  sentiments  at  a  general  meeting  of  Delegates 
from  every  part  of  the  Colony,  to  be  held  at  Charlestown, 
the  6th  of  July  next. 

"Even  the  merchants  now  seem  generally  inclined  to  a 
non-importation.  How  much  further  we  shall  go  wiU  de 
pend  upon  the  expected  advices  from  the  other  Colonies,  and 
the  spirit  and  vigor  with  which  they  act." 

Extract  of  a  Letter  Received  in  New  York. 

"  CHARLESTOWN,  S.  C.,  July  8,  1774. 

' '  On  the  6th  instant,  according  to  proper  notices  dispersed 
all  over  the  Province,  began  at  Charlestown  our  general  meet 
ing  of  Delegates  from  ail  the  counties,  for  agreeing  upon 
general  resolutions,  and  for  the  appointment  of  deputies  to 
represent  and  act  for  us  at  the  general  Congress.  This 
meeting  was  perhaps  one  of  the  most  respectable  ever  held 
in  America,  and  continued  with  very  little  intermission  till 
this  afternoon  when  the  business  was  concluded  with  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  323 

enclosed  resolutions.  Do  not  be  surprised  at  not  seeing  any 
non-importation  or  -exportation  resolves.  We  had  such,  but 
gave  them  up  to  succeed  in  the  allowing  full  powers  to  our 
deputies,  which  was  gaining  a  grand  point.  They  were 
chosen  by  ballotj  which  kept  us  up  till  after  midnight. 

"At  this  election  the  merchants  appeared  with  us  for  the 
first  time,  but  miscarried  in  their  choice.  The  voters' 
names  were  all  taken  down.  They  have,  by  voting  in  the 
appointment  of  deputies  so  fully  empowered,  acceded  to 
non-importation  or  -exportation,  if  the  Congress  should 
adopt  those  measures.  The  people,  nevertheless,  were  so 
uneasy  for  agreements  to  be  entered  into,  that  it  was  at 
last  declared,  on  the  part  of  the  trade,  that  they  would  (of 
their  own  motion)  countermand  their  orders,  and  would  not 
import  while  the  present  troubles  continue. 

u  Captain  Hunt  has  behaved  so  exceedingly  clever  upon 
the  present  occasion  by  staying  three  days  for  the  result  of 
our  meeting  and  for  our  letters,  that  he  has  this  day  received 
public  thanks  in  our  full  meeting.  His  stay  has  given  me 
this  opportunity  of  subscribing  myself,"  etc. 

Resolutions  of  the  General  Meeting. 

Eesolutions  unanimously  entered  into  by  the  inhabitants 
of  South  Carolina  at  a  general  meeting  held  at  Charlestown, 
in  said  Colony,  on  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday,  the 
6th,  7th,  and  8th  days  of  July,  1774: 

"Resolved,  That  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  North  America 
owe  the  same  allegiance  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  that 
is  due  from  his  subjects  born  in  Great  Britain. 

"Resolved,  That  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  America  are 
entitled  to  all  the  inherent  rights  and  liberties  of  his  natural- 
born  subjects  within  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain. 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  repugnant  to  the  rights  of  the  peo 
ple  that  any  taxes  should  be  imposed  on  them  unless  with 
their  own  consent,  given  personally  or  by  their  representa 
tives. 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  a  fundamental  right  which  his  Maj 
esty's  liege  subjects  are  entitled  to;  that  no  man  should 
suffer  in  his  person  or  property  without  a  fair  trial  and 
judgment  given  by  his  peers,  or  by  the  laws  of  the  land. 

"Resolved,  That  all  trials  of  treason,  misprision  of  trea 
son,  or  for  any  felony  or  crime  whatever  committed,  or  done 
in  this  his  Majesty's  Colony,  by  any  person  or  persons  re 
siding  therein,  ought  of  right  to  be  had  and  conducted  in  his 
Majesty's  courts  held  within  the  said  Colony,  according  to 
the  fixed  and  known  course  of  proceeding;  and  that  the 
seizing  any  person  or  persons  residing  in  this  Colony,  sus 
pected  of  any  crime  whatever  committed  therein,  and  send 
ing  such  person  or  persons  to  places  beyond  the  sea  to  be 
tried,  is  oppressive  and  illegal  and  highly  derogatory  to  the 


324  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

rights  of  British  subjects,  as  thereby  the  inestimable  priv 
ileges  of  being  tried  by  a  jury  from  the  vicinage,  as  well  as 
the  benefit  of  summoning  and  procuring  witnesses  on  such 
trial,  will  be  taken  away  from  the  party  accused. 

"Resolved,  That  the  statute  made  in  the  thirty-fifth  year 
of  Henry  the  Eighth,  chapter  two,  entitled  '  An  Act  for  the 
Trial  of  Treasons  Committed  out  of  the  King's  Dominions,' 
does  not  extend  and  cannot,  but  by  an  arbitrary  and  cruel 
construction,  be  construed  to  extend  to  treasons,  misprisions 
of  treasons,  or  concealment  of  treasons  committed  in  any 
of  his  Majesty's  American  Colonies,  where  there  is  sufficient 
provision  by  the  law  of  the  land  for  the  impartial  trial  of  all 
such  persons  as  are  charged  with,  and  for  the  due  punish 
ment  of,  those  offences. 

"Resolved,  That  the  late  act  for  shutting  up  the  port  of 
Boston,  and  the  two  bills  relative  to  Boston  which  by  the 
last  accounts  from  Great  Britain  had  been  brought  into  Par 
liament,  there  read  and  committed,  are  of  the  most  alarm 
ing  nature  to  all  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  America;  are  cal 
culated  to  deprive  many  thousand  Americans  of  their  rights, 
properties,  and  privileges  in  a  most  cruel,  oppressive,  and 
unconstitutional  manner;  are  the  most  dangerous  prece 
dents  :  and,  though  levelled  immediately  at  the  people  of 
Boston,  very  manifestly  and  glaringly  show  if  the  inhab 
itants  of  that  town  are  intimidated  into  a  mean  submission 
to  said  acts,  that  the  like  are  designed  for  all  the  Colonies ; 
when  not  even  the  shadow  of  liberty  to  his  person  or  secur 
ity  of  his  property  will  be  left  to  any  of  his  subjects  residing 
on  the  American  continent. 

"Resolved  therefore,  That  not  only  the  dictates  of  hu 
manity,  but  the  soundest  principles  of  true  policy  and  self- 
preservation,  make  it  absolutely  necessary  for  the  inhabi 
tants  of  all  the  Colonies  in  America  to  assist  and  support  the 
people  of  Boston  by  all  lawful  wa^s  in  their  power,  and 
especially  to  leave  no  justifiable  means  untried  to  procure  a 
repeal  or  those  acts  immediately  relating  to  them ;  also  all 
others  affecting  the  Constitutional  rights  and  liberties  of 
America  in  general,  as  the  best  means  to  effect  this  desirable 
end. 

"Resolved,  That  Henry  Middleton,  John  Rutledge,  Chris 
topher  Gadsden,  Thomas  Lynch,  and  Edward  Rutledge, 
Esquires,  be  and  they  are  hereby  nominated  and  appointed 
deputies,  on  the  part  and  behalf  of  this  Colony,  to  meet  the 
deputies  of  the  several  Colonies  of  North  America  in  gen 
eral  Congress,  the  first  Monday  of  September  next,  at  Phila 
delphia,  or  at  any  other  place  or  time  that  may  be  generally 
agreed  upon  :  there  to  consider  the  act  lately  passed  and 
bills  depending  in  Parliament  with  regard  to  the  port  of 
Boston  and  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  which  act  and 
bills  in  the  precedent  and  consequences  affect  the  whole 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  325 

continent  ;  also  the  grievances  under  which  America  labors 
by  reason  of  the  several  acts  of  Parliament  that  impose 
taxes  or  duties  for  raising  a  revenue  and  lay  unnecessary  re 
straints  and  burthens  on  trade,  and  of  the  statutes,  Parlia 
mentary  acts,  and  royal  instructions  which  make  any  in 
vidious  distinctions  between  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  Great 
Britain  and  America; — with  full  power  and  authority,  in  be 
half  of  us  and  our  constituents,  to  concert,  agree  to,  and  ef 
fectually  prosecute  such  legal  measures  (by  which  we  for 
ourselves  and  them,  most  solemnly  engage  to  abide)  as  in  the 
opinion  of  the  said  deputies  and  of  the  deputies  so  to  be  as 
sembled  shall  be  most  likely  to  obtain  a  repeal  of  the  said 
acts  and  a  redress  of  those  grievances. 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  agree  to  pay  the  expenses  of 
those  gentlemen  who  may  be  fixed  upon  to  be  sent  upon  this 
business. 

"  Eesolved,  That,  while  the  oppressive  acts  relative  to  Bos 
ton  are  enforced,  we  will  cheerfully,  from  time  to  time,  con 
tribute  towards  the  relief  of  such  poor  persons  there  whose 
unfortunate  circumstances  occasioned  by  the  operation  of 
those  acts  may  be  thought  to  stand  in  need  of  most  assist 
ance. 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  by  all  means  in  our  power  en 
deavor  to  preserve  harmony  and  union  amongst  all  the  Col 
onies. 

"Eesolved,  That  a  committee  of  ninety-nine  persons  be 
now  appointed  to  act  as  a  general  committee  to  correspond 
with  the  committees  of  the  other  Colonies,  and  do  all  mat 
ters  and  things  necessary  to  carry  these  resolutions  into 
execution  ;  and  that  any  twenty-one  of  them  together  may 
proceed  to  business— their  power  to  continue  till  the  next 
general  meeting  ;  and  in  case  of  the  death,  departure  from 
the  Province,  or  refusal  to  act,  of  any  or  either  of  them,  the 
parish  or  district  from  which  such  person  dying,  removing,  or 
refusing  to  act  was  chosen,  shall  fill,  up  the  vacancy." 

Extract  of  a  letter  received  in  Boston,  dated  Charlestown, 
S.  C.,  July  11,  1774  : 

"In  consequence  of  the  advertisements  lately  published 
by  the  general  committee,  and  other  proper  means  used  to 
obtain  the  sense  of  the  whole  Colony  on  the  present  alarming 
state  of  American  affairs,  on  "Wednesday  last,  the  6th  in 
stant,  the  largest  body  of  the  most  respectable  inhabitants 
that  has  ever  been  seen  together  upon  any  public  occasion 
here,  or  perhaps  anywhere  in  America  (for  gentlemen  of  the 
greatest  property  and  character,  animated  with  an  ardent 
zeal  to  relieve  their  suffering  brethren,  and  to  preserve  their 
own  freedom  and  the  birthrights  of  their  posterity,  not 
withstanding  the  extreme  inconvenience  of  the  season,  from 
even  the  remotest  parts  of  the  country  attended),  met  at  the 
Exchange  in  this  town  in  order  to  consider  of  the  papers, 


326  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

letters,  and  resolutions  that  had  been  transmitted  to  the 
said  committee  from  the  northern  Colonies  ;  and  also  of  the 
steps  necessary  to  be  pursued  in  the  union  with  the  inhabi 
tants  of  our  sister -Colonies  on  this  continent,  to  avert  the 
dangers  impending  over  American  liberties  in  general,  by 
the  late  hostile  act  of  Parliament  against  Boston,  and  other 
arbitrary  measures  of  the  British  Ministry." 

Another  Account 
from  Drayton,  the  historian: 

4 'The  6th  day  of  July  now  arrived,  and  Charlestown  was 
filled  with  people  from  the  country.  One  hundred  and  four 
deputies  represented  all  parts  of  the  Colony,  except  Green 
ville  county,  St.  John's  Colleton  county,  and  Christ  Church 
parish.  These  districts  sent  no  deputies.  And  in  behalf  of 
Charlestown,  the  general  committee  joined  the  deputies  from 
the  country.  The  meeting  was  held  under  the  Exchange,  on 
the  6th  of  July,  1774;  and  a  crowded  meeting  it  was.  At 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  Colonel  George  Gabriel  Powell 
took  the  chair,  and  it  was  carried,  the  votes  should  be  given 
by  each  person  present,  and  not  by  parishes.  It  was  also 
further  determined  that  whoever  came  there  might  give  his 
vote.  The  business  of  the  day  then  opened  with  reading  the 
communications  from  the  northern.  Colonies.  They  then 
proceeded  to  consider  certain  resolutions  touching  American 
rights  and  grievances.  These  were  agreed  to." 

The  South  Carolina  Assembly. 

11  The  Commons  House  of  Assembly  met  agreeably  to  the 
Lieutenant-governor's  prorogation,  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  day 
of  August,  1774,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  and  Messrs. 
Heyward  and  Cattell  were  ordered  to  'wait  on  the  Lieu 
tenant-governor,  and  acquaint  his  Honour  that  the  House  had 
met.'  The  said  gentlemen  being  returned,  Mr.  Heyward 
reported  to  the  House  that  Mr.  Cattell  and  himself  had 
waited  on  the  Lieutenant-governor  with  the  message  they 
had  in  charge,  and  that  his  Honour  was  pleased  to  say  he 
would  be  in  the  Council-chamber  immediately,  when  he 
would  send  a  message  to  this  House. 

"Colonel  Powell,  chairman  of  the  late  general  meeting1,  ac 
quainted  the  House  '  that,  during  the  recess  of  this  House, 
namely,  on  the  6th,  7th,  and  8th  days  of  July  last,  at  a  gen 
eral  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony,  they  having 
under  consideration  the  acts  of  Parliament  lately  passed  with 
regard  to  the  port  of  Boston  and  Colony  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  as  well  as  other  American  grievances/  had  nominated 
and  appointed  the  Honourable  Henry  Middleton,  John  Rut- 
ledge,  Thomas  Lynch,  Christopher^Gadsden,  and  Edward 
Eutledge,  Esquires,  deputies,  on  the  part  and  behalf  of  this 


THE  mUTII  OP  THE  REPUBLIC.  327 


Colony,  to  meet  the  deputies  of  the  other  Colonies  of  North 
America,  in  general  Congress,  the  first  Monday  in  Septem 
ber  next,  at  Philadelphia,  or  at  any  other  time  or  place  that 
may  be  generally  agreed  on  :  then  to  consider  the  acts  lately 
passed  and  bills  depending  in  Parliament  with  regard  to  the 
port  of  Boston  and  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  which 
acts  and  bills  in  the  precedent  and  consequences  affect  the 
whole  continent  of  America  ;  also  the  grievances  under 
which  America  labors  by  reason  of  the  several  acts  of  Par 
liament  that  impose  taxes  or  duties  for  raising  a  revenue 
and  lay  unnecessary  restraints  and  burthens  on  trade,  and  of 
the  statutes,  Parliamentary  acts,  and  royal  instructions 
which  make  an  invidious  distinction  between  his  Majesty's 
subjects  in  Great  Britain  and  America;—  with  full  power  and 
authority  to  concert,  agree  to,  and  effectually  prosecute  such 
legal  measures  as  in  the  opinion  of  the  said  deputies,  and  of 
the  deputies  so  to  be  assembled,  shall  be  most  likely  to  ob 
tain  a  repeal  of  the  said  acts  and  a  redress  of  those  griev 
ances/  —  And  thereupon  moved  that  this  House  do  resolve  to 
recognize,  ratify,  and  confirm  the  said  appointment  of  depu 
ties  for  the  purposes  aforesaid  ;  and  that  this  House  do  also 
resolve  to  provide  a  sum  not  exceeding  one  thousand  five 
hundred  pounds  sterling  to  defray  the  expenses  which  said 
deputies  will  be  at  on  the  said  service. 

"'Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  this  House  do 
recognize,  ratify,  and  confirm  the  appointment  of  the  said 
deputies  for  the  purposes  mentioned  in  the  said  motion. 

"'Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  this  House  will 
make  provision  to  pay  any  person  or  persons  who  will  ad 
vance  to  the  said  Henry  Middleton,  John  Rutledge,  Thomas 
Lynch,  Christopher  Gadsden,  and  Edward  Rutledge,  Es 
quires,  the  sum  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  pounds  ster 
ling  (for  the  purposes  aforesaid),  together  with  full  in 
terest  from  the  day  the  said  one  thousand  five  hundred 
pounds  sterling  shall  be  advanced  until  it  be  repaid  to  the 
person  or  persons  advancing  the  same.'  " 

Non-consumption  of  Tea. 

"  CHARLESTOWN,  S.  C.,  October  14,  1774. 

"  On  Wednesday  last  the  General  Committee  of  this  Col 
ony  chose  a  Committee  of  Inquiry  to  see  that  no  India  teas 
from  any  place  whatever  be  imported  or  landed  here,  and 
ordered  the  following  advertisement  to  be  published  in  the 
Gazette  : 

"  '  CHARLESTOWN   S.  C.,  October  12,  1774. 

"  '  The  General  Committee  most  earnestly  recommend  and 
request  of  those  inhabitants  of  this  Colony  who  have  not  yet 
signed  an  agreement  for  non-consumption  of  India  teas  after 
the  first  day  of  November  next,  that  they  *-ilJ  subscribe  the 


328  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

said  agreement  as  soon  as  possible ;  for  which  purpose  copies 
thereof  will  be  lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  gentlemen  who 
were  chosen  to  represent  the  several  parishes  on  the  said 
committee. ' " 

Extracts  from  the  charge  of  the  Honorable  William 
Henry  Drayton,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  General 
Sessions  of  the  Peace,  Oyer  and  Terminer,  Assize  and  Gen 
eral  Gaol  Delivery  for  the  districts  of  Camden  and  Cheraw, 
in  South  Carolina,  on  his  circuit,  the  fifth  and  fifteenth  days 
of  November,  1774,  delivered  to  the  several  Grand  Juries, 
and  by  them  ordered  to  be  published : 

"By  as  much  as  you  prefer  freedom  to  slavery,  by  so 
much  ought  you  to  prefer  a  generous  death  to  servitude, 
and  to  hazard  everything  to  endeavor  to  maintain  that  rank 
which  is  so  gloriously  pre-eminent  above  all  other  nations. 
You  ought  to  endeavor  to  preserve  it,  not  only  for  its  ines 
timable  value,  but  from  a  reverence  to  our  ancestors,  from 
whom  we  received  it,  and  from  a  love  of  our  children,  to 
whom  we  are  bound  by  every  consideration  to  deliver  down 
this  legacy,  the  most  valuable  that  ever  was  or  can  be  de 
livered  to  posterity. 

"  It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  draw  any  other  character  of 
those  liberties  than  that  great  line  by  which  they  are  dis 
tinguished  ;  and  happy  is  it  for  the  subject,  that  those  liber 
ties  can  be  marked  in  so  easy  and  so  distinguished  a  manner. 
And  this  is  the  distinguishing  character:  English  people 
cannot  be  taxed ;  nay,  they  cannot  be  bound  by  any  law 
unless  by  their  consent,  expressed  by  themselves  or  by  their 
representatives  of  their  own  election.  This  Colony  was 
settled  by  English  subjects ;  by  a  people  from  England  her 
self  ;  a  people  who  brought  over  with  them,  who  planted  in 
this  Colony,  and  who  transmitted  to  posterity,  the  invaluable 
rights  of  Englishmen — rights  which  no  time,  no  contract,  no 
climate  can  diminish. 

"Some  worthy  judges  style  themselves  the  King's  ser 
vants,  a  style  which  sounds  harshly  in  my  ears,  inasmuch 
as  the  being  a  servant  implies  obedience  to  the  orders  of  the 
master,  and  such  judges  might  possibly  think  that  in  the 
present  situation  of  American  affairs  this  charge  is  incon 
sistent  with  my  duty  to  the  King.  But  for  my  part,  in  my 
judicial  character,  I  know  no  master  but  the  law ;  I  am  a 
servant,  not  to  the  King,  but  to  the  Constitution ;  and  in  my 
estimation,  I  shall  but  discharge  my  duty  as  a  good  subject 
to  the  King  and  a  trusty  officer  under  the  Constitution, 
when  I  boldly  declare  the  law  to  the  people  and  instruct 
them  in  their  civil  rights.  Indeed,  you  gentleman  of  the 
Grand  Jury  cannot  properly  comprehend  your  duty,  and 
your  great  obligation  to  perform  it,  unless  you  know  those 
civil  rights  from  which  these  duties  spring;  and,  by  knowing 
the  value  of  those  rights,  thence  learn  your  obligations  to 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  nEPUBLIC.  329 

perform  these  duties.  A  learned  judge  says:  'Every  new 
tribunal  erected  for  the  decision  of  facts,  without  the  inter 
vention  of  a  jury,  is  a  step  towards  aristocracy — the  most 
oppressive  of  absolute  governments.'  And  it  is  therefore  a 
duty  which  every  man  owes  to  his  country,  his  friends,  his 
posterity,  and  himself,  to  maintain  to  the  utmost  of  his 
power  this  valuable  Constitution  in  all  its  rights ;  to  restore 
it  to  its  ancient  dignity,  if  at  all  impaired;  to  amend  it 
wherever  it  is  defective ;  and,  above  all,  to  guard  with  the 
most  jealous  circumspection  against  the  introduction  of  new 
and  arbitrary  methods  of  trial,  which,  under  a  variety  of 
plausible  pretences,  may  in  time  imperceptibly  undermine 
this  best  preservative  of  English  liberty. 

"Mr.  Justice  Blackstone  terms  the  English  trial  by  jury 
the  glory  of  the  English  law ;  let  me  tell  you,  it  is  that  kind  of 
glory  in  full  meridian  lustre,  in  comparison  of  which  the 
English  mode  appears  only  with  diminished  splendour." 

Presentments  of  the  Grand  Jury  for  the  District  of  Camden. 

"  3.  We  present,  as  a  grievance  of  the  most  dangerous  and 
alarming  nature,  the  power  exercised  by  the  Parliament  to 
tax  and  to  make  laws  to  bind  the  American  Colonies  in  all 
cases  whatsoever.  We  conceive  such  a  power  is  destructive 
of  our  birthrights  as  freemen,  descended  from  English  an 
cestors,  seeing  such  freemen  cannot  be  Constitutionally  taxed 
or  bound  by  any  law  without  their  consent,  expressed  by 
themselves  or  implied  by  their  representatives  of  their  own 
election;  a  consent  which  the  good  people  of  this  Colony 
never  have  signified,  to  be  taxed  or  bound  by  laws  of  the 
British  Parliament,  in  which  they  never  have  had  any  Con 
stitutional  representation. 

"  And  whereas,  We  rather  choose  to  die  freemen  than  to 
live  slaves,  bound  by  laws  in  the  formation  of  which  we 
have  no  participation,  so  now,  that  the  body  of  this  district 
are  legally  assembled,  as  one  step  towards  the  defence  of  our 
Constitutional  rights,  which  are  dearer  to  us  than  our  lives 
and  fortunes,  we  think  it  our  indispensable  duty  to  the  peo 
ple  of  the  district,  to  ourselves,  the  Grand  Jurors  for  the 
body  of  the  people,  and  to  our  posterity,  thus  clearly  to  ex 
press  the  sense  of  this  large  and  populous  district  touching 
our  Constitutional  rights  and  the  very  imminent  danger  to 
which  they  are  exposed  from  the  usurped  power  of  the  Brit 
ish  Parliament,  taxing,  and,  by  law  binding,  the  Americans 
in  all  cases  whatsoever ; — being  resolved  to  maintain  our  Con 
stitutional  rights  at  the  hazard  of  our  lives  and  fortunes,  we 
do  most  earnestly  recommend  that  this  presentment  in  par 
ticular  be  laid  before  our  Constitutional  representatives  in 
General  Assembly,  who,  we  doubt  not,  will  do  all  in  their 
power  to  support  us  in  our  just  rights. 

u  And,  lastly,  in  testimony  of  the  satisfaction  we  feel,  and 


330  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

the  high  estimation  in  which  we  hold  the  charge  given  by 
his  Honour  the  judge  at  the  opening  of  the  court,  and  the 

Erinciples  of  loyalty  and  liberty  in  which  the  same  is  mani- 
sstly  founded,  and  also  that  a  lasting  evidence  may  remain 
of  that  true  and  Constitutional  language,  which  it  is  the  duty 
of  every  judge  to  adopt  in  the  exercise  of  an  office  instituted 
solely  for  the  preservation  of  the  laws,  we  make  it  our  re 
quest  that  his  Honour  will  be  pleased  to  direct  the  said 
charge  to  be  printed  and  made  public,  fully  persuaded  that 
every  man  will  read  it  with  applause  who  wishes  a  lasting 
security  to  the  British  Constitutional  establishment  of  our 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  We  also  recommend  the  publi 
cation  of  these  our  presentments. 

"MATTHEW  SINGLETON, 

"Foreman; 

"  Joshua  English,         Jasper  Sutton,  Isham  Moore, 

Sylvester  Dunn,        John  Payn,  John  Cantey, 

John  Witherspoon,  Henry  Cassells,         John  Gamble, 
Samuel  Bradley,        Robert  Carter,  James  Conyers, 

Henry  Hunter,          David  Wilson,  David  Neilson, 

Aaron  Frierson,        Thomas  Coffity,         Moses  Gordon, 
John  Perkins,  Sr.,    Samuel  Cantey,         Edward  Dukey." 

The  South  Carolina  Provincial  Congress. 

"On  Wednesday,  the  llth  day  of  January,  1775,  the 
deputies  from  every  parish  and  district  in  the  Province  of 
South  Carolina  met  at  the  Exchange  in  Charleston,  agree 
ably  to  the  Resolutions  of  Election; 

"  And  after  some  debate  it  was,— 

"  'Resolved,  That  this  Congress  do  approve  the  Declara 
tion  of  American  Rights  as  framed  by  the  Continental  Con 
gress. 

* '  Ordered,  That  the  Association  formed  by  the  late  Con 
tinental  Congress  be  taken  into  immediate  consideration. 

"  The  Association  was  then  read,  and  after  long  debate  it 
was,— 

"  'Resolved,  That  this  Congress  do  approve  the  American 
Association. 

"'Ordered,  That  the  resolutions  of  the  late  Continental 
Congress  on  the  10th  of  September  last,  and  the  first,  second, 
fourth,  and  sixth  resolutions  of  the  said  Congress  on  the  14th 
of  October  last,  be  taken  into  immediate  consideration. 

"  *  Resolved,  That  this  Congress  do  approve  the  above  res 
olutions  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

"  '  Ordered,  That  the  President  do  return  the  most  cordial 
and  grateful  thanks  of  this  Congress  to  each  of  the  late 
Delegates  from  this  Colony  to  the  late  Continental  Congress 
for  their  able  and  faithful  discharge  in  the  said  Congress 
of  the  high  trust  reposed  in  them  by  their  country.' 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  331 

"And  the  same  was  done  accordingly. 

"  '  Eesolved,  That  the  unfeigned  thanks  of  every  American 
are  justly  due  to  the  worthy  and  patriotic  members  of  the 
late  Continental  Congress,  held  at  Philadelphia,  for  their 
wise  and  spirited  exertions  in  behalf  of  American  liberty ; 
and  the  representatives  of  this  Colony,  now  met  in  Provincial 
Congress,  do  hereby,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  in  the 
names  of  their  constituents,  unanimously  express  their  sense 
of  the  great  services  rendered  them  by  those  important  pro 
ceedings.'" 

Extract  from  Drayton,  the  Historian. 

"  Our  Delegates  from  Congress  being  present,  the  pro 
ceedings  of  that  body  at  Philadelphia  were  taken  into  con 
sideration,  and  many  questions  were  proposed  to  them 
relative  to  various  parts  of  the  proceedings,  to  which  answers 
and  explanations  were  given  by  them.  One  of  the  most 
important  of  these  was,  why,  at  a  time  when  a  number  of 
gentlemen  were  sent  to  Congress  from  all  parts  of  America, 
for  the  express  purpose  of  considering  and  stating  the  Ame 
rican  grievances,  and  for  devising  the  proper  means  for 
redressing  them,  why  did  they  limit  their  researches  to  the 
year  1763,  and  not  trace  back,  as  could  easily  have  been 
done,  the  many  aggressions  which  had  been  committed  by 
Great  Britain  upon  her  infant  Colonies,  in  the  jealousies, 
monopolies,  and  prohibitions  with  which  she  was  so  prodigal 
towards  them,  for  the  express  purpose  of  depressing  their 
population,  confining  their  trade,  and  crippling  their  at 
tempts  at  even  the  most  domestic  and  necessary  manufac 
tures  ?  To  this  it  was  answered  that  our  Delegates  were 
willing  to  have  stated  all  the  grievances,  as  were  the  greater 
part  of  the  other  Delegates ;  but  the  people  of  Virginia  would 
not  retrospect  further  back  than  1763,  being  limited  in  their 
powers." 

"  CHAKLESTOWN,  Jan'y  17,  1775. 

"  Eesolved,  That  it  be  recommended  by  this  Congress,  to 
all  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony,  that  they  be  diligently 
attentive  in  learning  the  use  of  arms,  and  that  their  officers 
be  requested  to  train  and  exercise  them  at  least  once  a  fort 
night. 

"Eesolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  inhabitants  of 
this  Colony  to  set  apart  Friday,  the  17th  February  next,  as  a 
day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer  before  Almighty  God, 
devoutly  to  petition  him  to  inspire  the  King  with  true  wis 
dom  to  defend  the  people  of  North  America  in  their  just  title 
to  freedom,  and  to  avert  from  them  the  impending  calamities 
of  civil  war. 

"Eesolved,  That  the  several  ministers  of  the  gospel 
throughout  the  Colony  be  requested  to  prepare  and  deliver 
suitable  discourses  upon  this  solemn  occasion. 


332  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"Resolved,  That  every  member  of  the  present  Congress 
who  may  be  in  town  do  meet  at  the  Commons  House  of  As 
sembly,  and  proceed  from  thence  in  a  body  to  attend  divine 
service  at  St.  Philip's  Church ;  and  that  the  president  do  re 
quest  of  the  Reverend  Mr.  Robert  Smith  that  he  will  prepare 
and  preach  on  that  day  a  sermon  suitable  to  the  importance 
of  the  occasion." 

Association 

unanimously  agreed  to  in  the  Provincial  Congress  of  South 
Carolina. 

"June  3d,  1775. 

"The  actual  commencement  of  hostilities  against  this 
continent  by  the  British  troops  in  the  bloody  scene  on  the 
19th  of  April  last  near  Boston,  the  increase  of  arbitrary  im 
positions  from  a  wicked  and  despotic  Ministry,  and  the  dread 
of  instigated  insurrections  in  the  Colonies  are  causes  suffi 
cient  to  drive  an  oppressed  people  to  the  usr>  of  arms. 

"We,  therefore,  the  subscribers,  inhabitants  of  South 
Carolina,  holding  ourselves  bound  by  that  most  sacred  of  all 
obligations— the  duty  of  good  citizens  towards  an  injured 
country,  and  thoroughly  convinced  that  under  our  present 
distressed  circumstances  we  shah1  be  justified  before  God  and 
man  in  resisting  force  by  force,  do  unite  ourselves  under 
every  tie  of  religion  and  honor,  and  associate  as  a  band  in 
her  defence  against  every  foe ;  hereby  solemnly  engaging 
that,  whenever  our  Continental  or  Provincial  Councils  shall 
decree  it  necessary,  we  will  go  forth  and  be  ready  to  sacri 
fice  our  li ves  and  fortunes  to  secure  her  freedom  and  safety. 

"  This  obligation  to  continue  in  full  force  until  a  recon 
ciliation  shall  take  place  between  Great  Britain  and  America 
upon  Constitutional  principles — an.  event  which  we  most 
ardently  desire. 

"  And  we  will  hold  all  those  persons  ipimical  to  the  liberty 
of  the  Colonies  who  shall  refuse  to  subscribe  to  this  Associa 
tion. 

"Subscribed  by  every  member  present  on  the  4th  day  of 
June,  1775.  Certified  by 

"HENRY  LAURENS,  President." 

"  CHARLESTOWN,  S.  C.,  June  8,  1775. 

"  The  Association  signed  by  the  Provincial  Congress  and 
recommended  by  them  as  a  proper  instrument  to  be  sub 
scribed  to  at  this  juncture  by  persons  of  all  persuasions,  was 
in  a  few  days,  with  the  greatest  avidity  and  cheerfulness, 
signed  also  by  almost  every  man  in  this  town ;  in  short,  such 
is  here  the  spirit  for  liberty  and  freedom,  that,  of  the  very 
few  who  objected,  there  were  only  two  who  were  hardy 
enough  to  ridicule  or  treat  it  with  contempt,  viz.,  Loughliii 
Martin  and  John  Dealy,  on  which  account  they  drew  on 


TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  333 

themselves  the  resentment  of  the  populace.  Yesterday  they 
were  carted  through  the  principal  streets  of  this  town  in 
complete  suits  of  tar  and  feathers.  The  very  indecent  and 
daring  behaviour  of  the  two  culprits  in  several  instances  oc 
casioned  their  being  made  spectacles  of.  After  having  been 
exhibited  for  about  a  half-hour,  and  having  made  many 
acknowledgments  of  their  crime,  they  were  conducted 
home,  cleaned,  and  quietly  put  on  board  of  Captain  Lasley's 
ship,  lying  wind-bound,  for  Bristol.  We  hear  that,  upon  the 
intercession  of  Martin's  friends,  and  his  repeated  promises  of 
future  good  behaviour,  he  is  allowed  to  come  on  shore  and 
follow  his  business  as  usual. " 

"  CHARLESTOWN,  S.  C.,  June  9,  1775. 

"  We  are  informed  that  the  Association  lately  subscribed 
by  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  recommended  by  them  as 
proper  to  be  signed  by  all  the  inhabitants  meets  with  the 
greatest  success.  In  the  course  of  four  days  it  has  been 
signed  by  almost  every  man  in  Charlestown ;  none  having  re 
fused,  that  we  hear  of,  except  a  few  gentlemen  under  pe 
culiar  circumstances. 

"We  also  learn  that  the  Provincial  Congress  have  deter 
mined  to  raise  two  regiments  of  foot  and  one  of  horse 
immediately ;  and  also  to  put  the  Militia  upon  a  respectable 
footing,  to  which  the  people  most  cheerfully  accord ;  and  we 
have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  Colony  will  very 
speedily  be  put  in  a  good  posture  of  defence. 

1 '  The  Provincial  Congress  have  resolved  to  lay  up  proper 
quantities  of  rice  and  flour  in  granaries  in  divers  parts  of 
the  Colony,  and  have  appointed  commissioners  for  pur 
chasing  these  articles,  and  carrying  these  resolutions  forth 
with  into  execution.  They  have  also  prohibited  the  further 
exportation  of  rice  and  corn  for  three  months." 

Address  of  the  Provincial  Congress  to  the  Governor. 

"  To  his  Excellency  the  Right  Honourable  Lord  William   Campbell,  Governor 
and  Commander-in-chief  in  and  over  the  Province  aforesaid : 

"The  humble  Address  and  Declaration  of  the  Provincial 
Congress : 

' '  We,  his  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  the  representatives  of 
the  people  of  this  Colony,  in  Congress  assembled,  beg  leave 
to  disclose  to  your  Excellency  the  true  causes  of  our  proceed 
ings  ;  not  only  that  upon  your  arrival  among  us  you  may 
receive  no  unfavorable  impression  of  our  conduct,  but  that 
we  may  stand  justified  to  the  world. 

"  When  the  ordinary  modes  of  application  for  redress  of 
grievances,  and  the  usual  means  of  defence  against  arbitrary 
impositions,  have  failed,  mankind  generally  have  had  re 
course  to  those  tHkt  are  extraordinary.  Hence  the  origin  of 


334  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

the  Continental  Congress,  and  hence  the  present  representa 
tion  of  the  people  of  this  Colony. 

"It  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate  the  grievances  of 
America;  they  have  been  so  often  represented  that  your 
Excellency  cannot  be  a  stranger  to  them.  Let  it  therefore 
suffice  to  say  that  the  hands  of  his  Majesty's  Ministers 
which  have  long  lain  heavy,  now  press  us  with  intolerable 
weight. 

"  We  declare  that  no  love  of  innovation,  no  desire  of  alter 
ing  the  Constitution  of  government,  no  lust  of  independence, 
has  had  the  least  influence  upon  our  councils. 

"But,  alarmed  and  roused  by  a  long  succession  of  arbi 
trary  proceedings  by  wicked  administrations,  impressed 
with  the  greatest  apprehensions  of  instigated  insurrections, 
and  deeply  affected  by  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  by 
the  British  troops,  against  this  continent,  solely  for  the 
preservation  and  defence  of  our  lives,  liberties,  and  proper 
ties,  we  have  been  compelled  to  associate  and  take  up  arms. 

"We  sincerely  deplore  those  slanderous  informations  and 
wicked  counsels  by  which  his  Majesty  has  been  led  into 
measures  which,  if  persisted  in,  must  inevitably  involve 
America  in  all  the  calamities  of  civil  war  and  rend  the 
British  empire. 

"We  only  desire  the  secure  enjoyment  of  our  invaluable 
rights,  and  we  wish  for  nothing  more  ardently  than  a  speedy 
reconciliation  with  our  mother-country  upon  Constitutional 
principles. 

"Conscious  of  the  justice  of  our  cause  and  the  integrity 
of  our  views,  we  readily  profess  pur  loyal  attachment  to  our 
Sovereign,  his  Crown  and  dignity ;  and  trusting  the  event 
to  Providence,  we  prefer  death  to  slavery." 

"  !•«  PROVINCIAL  CONGRESS,      ) 
CHARLESTOWN,  S.  C.,  June  22,  1775.  \ 

"Resolved,  That  all  absentees  holding  estates  in  this 
Colony,  except  the  sick,  those  above  sixty,  and  those  under 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  ought  forthwith  to  return  to  this 
Colony. 

"  Resolved.  That  no  persons  holding  estates  in  this  Colony 
oujrht  to  withdraw  from  its  service  without  giving  good  and 
sufficient  reasons  for  so  doing,  to  this  Congress,  or,  during 
its  recess,  to  the  General  Committee. 

"Ordered,  That  the  two  foregoing  resolutions  be  printed 
and  made  public.  PETER  TIMOTHY,  Secretary." 

(Extract.) 

"The  humble  address  of  the  Commons  House  of  Assembly 
of  the  said  Colony  of  South  Carolina  to  his  Excellency  the 
Governor,  dated  July  12,  1775 : 

"  'In  times  when  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  has  full 
operation  and,  animating  all  the  members  of  the  state,  gives 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  335 

security  to  civil  liberty,  then  we  claim  to  be  *  *  the  only  legal 
representatives  of  the  people  in  this  Province,  the  only  Con 
stitutional  guardians  of  its  welfare ;"  but,  in  the  present  un 
happy  situation  of  affairs,  though  our  constituents  might 
have  thought  us  competent,  yet,  as  our  own  meeting  de 
pended  upon  the  pleasure  of  the  Crown,  they  would  not 
trust  to  so  precarious  a  contingency,  but  wisely  appointed 
another  representative  body,  for  necessary,  for  special,  and 
important  purposes. 

' ' '  We  want  words  to  give  an  idea  of  our  feelings  at  your 
Excellency's  expression,  "If  there  are  any  grievances  that 
we  apprehend  the  neople  of  this  Province  labour  under"— as 
if  you  doubted  their  existence :  the  world  resounds  with  a 
catalogue  of  them. 

"  *  Your  Excellency  surely  cannot  be  unacquainted  with 
them. 

A.  Constitution  or  Form  of  Government  Agreed  to  and  Re 
solved  upon  by  the  Representatives  of  South  Carolina. 

"Whereas,  The  British  Parliament,  claiming  of  late  years 
a  right  to  bind  the  North  American  Colonies  by  law  in  all 
cases  whatsoever,  have  enacted  statutes  for  raising  a  revenue 
in  those  Colonies,  and  disposing  of  such  revenue  as  they 
thought  proper,  without  the  consent  and  against  the  will  of 
the  Colonists,  etc.  .  .  . 

"And  whereas,  The  judges  of  the  courts  of  law  here  have 
refused  to  exercise  their  respective  functions,  so  that  it  is 
become  indispensably  necessary  that,  during  the  present 
situation  of  American  affairs,  and  until  the  accommodation 
of  the  unhappy  differences  between  Great  Britain  and 
America  can  be  obtained  (an  event  which,  though  traduced 
and  treated  as  rebels,  we  still  earnestly  desire),  some  mode 
should  be  established  by  common  consent  and  for  the  good 
of  the  people — the  origin  and  end  of  all  government  for  reg 
ulating  the  internal  polity  of  this  Colony ;  the  Congress  being 
vested  with  powers  competent  for  the  purpose,  and  having 
fully  deliberated  touching  the  premises,  do  therefore, — 

"Resolve,  1.  That  this  Congress,  being  a  full  and  free 
representation  of  the  people  of  this  Colony,  shall  henceforth 
be  deemed  and  called  the  General  Assembly  of  South  Caro 
lina  ;  and  as  such,  shall  continue  until  the  21st  day  of  October 
next,  and  no  longer. 

"2.  That  the  General  Assembly  shall,  out  of  their  own 
body,  elect  by  ballot  a  Legislative  Council,  to  consist  of 
thirteen  members,  seven  of  whom  shall  be  a  quorum,  and 
to  continue  for  the  same  time  as  the  General  Assembly. 

"3.  That  the  General  Assembly  and  the  said  Legislative 
Council  shall  jointly  choose  by  ballot,  from  among  them 
selves  or  from  the  people  at  large,  a  President  and  Com 
mander-in-chief  and  a  Vice-president  of  the  Colony. 


336  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

U4.  That  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  being  chosen 
and  acting  as  President  and  Commander-in-chief,  or  Vice- 
president,  or  one  of  the  Legislative  Council,  shall  vacate  his 
seat  in  the  General  Assembly,  and  another  person  shall  be 
elected  in  his  room ;  and  if  one  of  the  Legislative  Council  is 
chosen  President  and  Commander-in-chief,  or  Vice  presi 
dent,  he  shall  lose  his  seat,  and  another  shall  be  elected  in 
his  stead. 

*'  5.  That  there  be  a  Privy  Council,  whereof  the  Vice-presi 
dent  of  the  Colony  shall  of  course  be  a  member  and  presi 
dent  of  the  Privy  Council;  and  that  six  other  members  be 
chosen  by  ballot— three  by  the  General  Assembly,  and  three 
by  the  Legislative  Council :  provided  always,  that  no  officer 
of  the  Army  or  Navy,  in  the  service  of  the  Continent  or  of 
this  Colony,  shall  be  eligible ;  and  a  member  of  the  General 
Assembly  or  of  the  Legislative  Council  being  chosen  of  the 
Privy  Council,  shall  not  thereby  lose  his  seat  in  the  General 
Assembly  or  Legislative  Council  unless  he  be  elected  Vice- 
president  of  the  Colony;  in  which  case  he  shall,  and  another 
person  shall  be  chosen  in  his  stead. 

"The  Privy  Council,  of  which  four  to  be  a  quorum,  to 
advise  the  President  and  Commander-in-chief  when  re 
quired  ;  but  he  shall  not  be  bound  to  consult  them  unless  in 
cases  after- mentionei. 

"6.  That  the  qualifications  of  the  President  and  Com 
mander-in-chief  and  Vice-president  of  the  Colony,  and 
members  of  the  Legislative  and  Privy  Councils,  shall  be  the 
same  as  of  members  of  the  General  Assembly ;  and  on  being 
elected,  they  shall  take  an  oath  of  qualification  in  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly. 

"  7.  That  the  legislative  authority  be  vested  in  the  Presi 
dent  and  Commander-in-chief,  the  General  Assembly,  and 
Legislative  Council,  etc." 

General  Order  of  General  Washington. 

' '  HEADQUARTERS  ,         ) 
NEW  YORK,  August  9,  1776.  J 

"  The  general  exhorts  every  man,  both  officer  and  soldier, 
to  be  prepared  for  action ;  to  have  his  arms  in  the  best  order ; 
not  to  wander  from  his  encampment  or  quarters ;  to  remem 
ber  what  their  country  expects  of  them ;  what  a  few  brave 
men  have  lately  done,  in  South  Carolina,  against  a  powerful 
fleet  and  army;  to  acquit  themselves  like  men ; — and  with 
the  blessing  of  heaven  on  so  just  a  cause,  we  cannot  doubt 
of  success." 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  337 

CHAPTER  VII. 

GEORGIA. 

GEORGIA  was  the  youngest  and  feeblest  of  the  Colonies. 
It  was  settled  in  1732.  When  the  Revolution  began,  there 
fore,  it  was  barely  forty  years  old,  and  forty  years  in  the 
life  of  a  Colony  in  that  age  are  not  to  be  measured  by  a 
similar  period  of  time  nowadays.  By  the  aid  of  steam  and 
railways  and  telegraphs,  the  populous  Atlantic  and  Middle 
States  and  the  vast  tide  of  European  immigration  will  now 
accomplish  more  in  the  way  of  colonizing  a  western  terri 
tory  in  a  single  year  than  could  have  been  done  during  the 
first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Georgia,  therefore, 
was  not  in  a  condition  to  do  much  for  the  common  cause  in 
the  beginning  of  the  struggle ;  but  her  gallant  sons  did  what 
they  could. 

The  circular-letter  of  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  dated 
February  11,  1768,  in  regard  to  the  taxes  on  tea  and  other 
articles,  reached  Georgia  after  the  adjournment  of  the  As 
sembly.  It  was  replied  to  by  the  speaker,  Alexander 
Wylly,  Esq.,  "  as  a  private  person,"  in  which  he  stated  that 
Dr.  Franklin  had  been  appointed  agent  of  the  Colony,  with 
instructions  to  urge  the  repeal  of  the  act.  The  Legislature 
met  in  November,  and  the  Governor,  referring  to  this  cor 
respondence,  which  had  been  made  public,  informed  the 
Assembly  that  if  any  countenance  was  given  to  the  scheme 
of  Massachusetts,  it  would  be  his  duty  "immediately  to  put 
an  end  to  your  sitting."  Accordingly  the  presentation  of 
the  Massachusetts  letter  was  withheld  until  the  necessary 
legislation  was  diposed  of,  when  Mr.  Wylly  laid  that  letter 
before  the  Assembly,  with  a  similar  one  from  Peyton  Ran 
dolph,  speaker  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses.  Both 
were  ordered  to  be  entered  on  the  Journals;  which  was 
done. 

"Resolved,  That,  from  the  inherent  right  of  the  subject  to 
petition  the  Throne  for  redress  of  grievances, — a  right  allowed 
and  confirmed  by  act  of  William  and  Mary, — the  said  letters 
do  not  appear  to  the  House  of  a  factious  or  dangerous  ten 
dency,  but,  on  the  contrary,  in  the  opinion  of  this  House, 
only  tend  to  a  justifiable  union  of  subjects  aggrieved,  in  law 
ful  and  laudable  endeavors  to  obtain  redress  by  an  applica 
tion  founded  upon  and  expressive  of  duty  and  loyalty  to 
the  best  of  kings,  a  becoming  respect  for  the  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain,  and  an  equitable  and  natural  affection  for 
our  mother-country,  and  arises  from  the  tender  and  com- 
mandable  attention  of  those  Colonies  to  the  natural  rights 
and  liberties  of  the  British  subjects  in  America,  and  to 


338  THE  BIRTH  OF*  THE  REPUBLIC. 

which  they  are  undeniably  entitled  upon  the  happy  prin 
ciples  of  our  Constitution. 

"Resolved,  That  copies  of  this  resolution  be,  by  the 
speaker  of  the  House,  transmitted  to  the  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  and  to  the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  in  Vir 
ginia,  and  that  they  be  acquainted  by  him  that  this  House 
approves  of  the  measures  by  them  pursued  to  obtain  redress 
of  our  common  grievances;  also  of  the  method  by  them 
taken  of  communicating  these  measures  to  the  other  Prov 
inces  of  the  continent. 

"Ordered,  That  the  several  proceedings  and  resolutions 
respecting  the  said  letters  be  published  in  the  Gazette  of  this 
Province,  and  that  the  clerk  do  furnish  the  printer  with  a 
copy  of  the  same." 

In  the  same  spirit  an  address  to  the  King  was  adopted. 

The  consequence  of  these  proceedings  was,  the  immediate 
dissolution  of  the  Assembly,  as  had  been  threatened  by  the 
Governor.  The  address  was  sent  to  Dr.  Franklin  to  be 
presented  to  the  King;  which  was  done  through  the  Earl  of 
Hillsborough.  But  its  reception  through  that  channel  was 
refused,  on  the  ground  that  it  should  have  come  through  the 
Governor. 

On  the  16th  of  September,  1769,  a  meeting  of  the  mer 
chants  and  traders  of  Savannah  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Alexander  Creighton,  at  which  they  resolved,  "That 
any  person  or  persons  whatsoever  importing  any  of  the  arti 
cles  subject  to  Parliamentary  duties,  after  having  it  in  their 
power  to  prevent  it,  ought  not  only  to  be  treated  with  con 
tempt,  but  also  as  enemies  of  their  country."  Three  days 
after,  a  large  meeting  was  convened  with  the  Honorable  Jona 
than  Bryan,  one  of  the  Governor's  Council,  in  the  chair,  at 
which  the  same  subject  was  renewedly  canvassed,  and  re 
solves  of  non-importation,  mostly  similar  to  the  other  Colo 
nies,  unanimously  passed.  One  of  the  resolves,  based  on  the 
sentiments  of  the  Bostonians  in  1765,  was  to  abolish  mourn 
ing  at  funerals,  as  the  black  stuffs  used  for  such  purposes 
were  of  British  manufacture. 

From  this  time  there  was  a  constant  struggle  between  the 
Governor  and  the  Assembly.  Bryan  was  thrown  out  of  the 
Council  by  order  of  the  King.  The  unanimous  election  of 
Dr.  Noble  Wimberly  Jones  to  the  speakership  of  the  Com 
mons  was  negatived  by  the  Governor.  The  Assembly  re 
sented  the  insult  as  a  breach  of  privilege,  and  as  tending  to 
subvert  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people. 

"  SAVANAH,  GA.,  July  14,  1774. 

"The  critical  situation  to  which  the  British  Colonies  in 
America  are  likely  to  be  reduced  from  the  alarming  and 
arbitrary  impositions  of  the  late  acts  of  the  British  Parlia- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  339 

ment  respecting  the  town  of  Boston,  as  well  as  the  acts  that 
at  present  extend  to  the  raising  of  a  perpetual  revenue 
without  the  consent  of  the  people  or  their  representatives, 
is  considered  as  an  object  extremely  important  at  this  criti 
cal  juncture,  and  particularly  calculated  to  deprive  the 
American  subjects  of  their  Constitutional  rights  and  liber 
ties  as  a  part  of  the  British  empire.  It  is  therefore  re 
quested  that  all  persons  within  the  limits  of  this  Province 
do  attend  at  the  Liberty  Pole  at  Fondee's  Tavern,  in  Savan 
nah,  on  Wednesday,  the  27th  instant,  in  order  that  the  said 
matters  may  be  taken  under  consideration,  and  other  Con 
stitutional  measures  pursued  as  may  then  appear  to  be 
most  eligible. 

"  NOBLE  W.  JONES,  JOHN  HOUSTON, 

ARCHIBALD  BULLOCH,  GEORGE  WALTON." 

Resolutions  Adopted  at  a  General  Meeting  of  the  People. 

Resolutions  entered  into  at  Savannah,  in  Georgia,  on 
Wednesday,  the  10th  day  of  August,  1774,  at  a  general  meet 
ing  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Province,  assembled  to  consider 
the  state  of  the  Colonies  in  America : 

"Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  his  Majesty's  sub 
jects  in  America  owe  the  same  allegiance,  and  are  entitled 
to  the  same  rights,  privileges,  and  immunities,  with  their 
fellow-subjects  in  Great  Britain. 

"  '  Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  as  protection  and 
allegiance  are  reciprocal,  and  under  the  British  Constitution 
correlative,  terms,  his  Majesty's  liege  subjects  in  America 
have  a  clear  and  indisputable  right,  as  well  from  the  general 
laws  of  mankind  as  from  the  ancient  and  established  customs 
of  the  land,  so  often  recognized,  to  petition  the  Throne  upon 
every  emergency. 

"  'Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  an  act  of  Parlia 
ment  lately  passed  for  blocking  the  port  and  harbor  of  Bos 
ton  is  contrary  to  our  idea  of  the  British  Constitution.  First 
for  that  in  effect  deprives  good  and  lawful  men  of  the  use  of 
their  property,  without  judgment  of  their  peers;  and,  second 
ly,  for  that  it  is  in  nature  of  an  ex  post  facto  law,  and  indis 
criminately  blends,  as  objects  of  punishment,  the  innocent 
with  the  guilty:  neither  do  we  conceive  the  same  justified 
upon  the  principles  of  necessity ;  for  that  numerous  instances 
evince  that  the  laws  and  executive  power  of  Boston  have 
made  sufficient  provisions  for  the  punishment  of  all  offenders 
against  persons,  or  property. 

u  '  Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  the  act  for  abolish 
ing  the  Charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay  tends  to  the  subversion 
of  American  rights ;  for,  besides  those  general  liberties  the 
original  settlers  brought  over  with  them  as  their  birthright, 
particular  immunities  were  granted  by  such  Charter  as  an 
inducement  and  means  of  settling  the  Province ;  and  we  ap- 


340  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

prehend  the  said  Charter  cannot  be  dissolved  but  by  a  volun 
tary  surrender  of  the  people  representatively  declared. 

"  'Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  we  apprehend  the 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain  hath  not,  nor  ever  had,  any  right 
to  tax  his  Majesty's  American  subjects;  for  it  is  evident  be 
yond  contradiction,  the  Constitution  admits  of  no  taxation 
without  representation,  that  they  are  coeval  and  insepara 
ble  ;  and  every  demand  for  the  support  of  government  should 
be  by  requisition  made  to  the  several  Houses  of  Represen 
tatives. 

u  'Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  it  is  contrary  to 
natural  justice  and  the  established  law  of  the  land,  to  trans 
port  any  person  to  Great  Britain  or  elsewhere  to  be  tried 
under  indictment  for  a  crime  committed  in  any  of  the  Col 
onies,  as  the  party  prosecuted  would  thereby  be  deprived  of 
the  privileges  of  trial  by  his  peers  from  the  vicinage,  the 
injured  perhaps  prevented  from  legal  reparation,  and  both 
lose  the  full  benefit  of  their  witnesses. 

"  '  Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  we  will  concur  with 
our  sister-Colonies  in  every  Constitutional  measure  to  obtain 
redress  of  American  grievances,  and  will,  by  every  lawful 
means  in  our  power,  maintain  these  inestimable  blessings 
for  which  we  are  indebted  to  God  and  the  Constitution  of 
our  country — a  Constitution  founded  upon  reason  and  jus 
tice  and  the  indelible  rights  of  mankind. 

u  '  Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  the  committee  ap 
pointed  by  the  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province, 
on  Wednesday,  the  27th  of  July  last,  together  with  the  depu 
ties  who  have  appeared  here  on  this  day,  from  the  different 
parishes,  be  a  general  committee  to  act ;  and  that  any  eleven 
or  more  of  them  shall  have  full  power  to  correspond  with 
the  committee  of  the  several  Provinces  upon  the  continent ; 
and  that  copies  of  these  resolutions,  as  well  as  all  other  pro 
ceedings,  be  transmitted,  without  delay,  to  the  Committees 
of  Correspondence  in  the  respective  Provinces.' 

"A  committee  was  appointed  to  receive  subscriptions  for 
the  suffering  poor  of  Boston,  consisting  of  William  Ewen, 
William  Young,  Joseph  Clay,  John  Houston,  Noble  Wimb- 
erly  Jones,  Edward  Tel  fair,  John  Smith,  Samuel  Farley,  and 
Andrew  Elton  Wells,  Esqrs." 

Darien  (Go,.)  Resolutions. 

"!N  THE  DARIEN  COMMITTEE,         ) 
Thursday,  January  12,  1775.  j 

"When  the  most  valuable  privileges  of  a  people  are  in 
vaded,  not  only  by  open  violence,  but  by  every  kind  of  fraud, 
sophistry,  and  cunning,  it  behooves  very  individual  to  be  on 
his  guard,  and  every  member  of  society,  like  beacons  in  a 
country  surrounded  by  enemies,  to  give  the  alarm,  not  only 
when  their  liberties  in  general  are  attacked,  but  separately, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  341 

lest  a  precedent  in  one  may  affect  the  whole ;  and  to  enable 
the  collective  wisdom  of  such  people  to  judge  of  its  conse 
quences,  and  how  far  their  respective  grievances  concern  all, 
or  should  he  opposed,  to  preserve  their  necessary  union. 

"  Every  laudable  attempt  of  this  kind  by  the  good  people 
of  this  Colony,  in  a  Constitutional  manner,  hath  been  hitherto 
frustrated  by  the  influence  and  authority  of  men  in  office, 
and  their  numerous  dependents,  and  in  every  other  natural 
and  just  way,  by  the  various  arts  they  have  put  in  practice. 
We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  extensive  district 
of  Darien,  in  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  being  now  assembled  in 
Congress  by  the  authority  and  free  choice  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  said  district,  now  freed  from  their  fetters,  do  resolve — 

"  1st.  That  the  unparalleled  moderation,  the  decent  but 
firm  and  manly  conduct,  of  the  loyal  and  brave  people  of  Bos 
ton  and  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  preserve  their  liberty,  deserves 
not  only  the  applause  and  thanks  of  America,  but  also  the 
imitation  of  all  mankind.  But  to  avoid  needless  repetition, 
we  acquiesce  and  join  in  all  the  resolutions  passed  by  the 
grand  American  Congress  in  Philadelphia  last  October." 

"  5th.  To  show  the  world  that  we  are  not  influenced  by 
any  contracted  or  interested  motives,  but  a  general  philan 
thropy  for  all  mankind,  of  whatever  climate,  language,  or 
complexion,  we  hereby  declare  our  disapprobation  and  ab 
horrence  of  the  unnatural  practice  of  slavery  in  America 
(however  the  uncultivated  state  of  our  country,  or  other  sne- 
cious  arguments  may  plead  for  it)— a  practice  founded  in  in 
justice  and  cruelty,  and  highly  dangerous  to  our  liberties 
(as  well  as  lives),  debasing  part  of  our  fellow-creatures  below 
men,  and  corrupting  the  virtue  and  morals  of  the  rest ;  and 
is  laying  the  basis  of  that  liberty  we  contend  for  (and  which 
we  pray  the  Almighty  to  continue  to  the  latest  posterity) 
upon  a  very  wrong  foundation.  We  therefore  resolve  at  all 
times  to  use  our  utmost  endeavors  for  the  manumission  of 
our  slaves  in  this  Colony,  upon  the  most  safe  and  equitable 
footing  for  the  masters  and  themselves." 

"  ASSOCIATION. 

"  Being  persuaded  that  the  salvation  of  the  rights  and  lib 
erties  of  America  depend,  under  God,  on  the  firm  union  of 
the  inhabitants  in  its  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  measures 
necessary  for  its  safety,  and  convinced  of  the  necessity  of 
preventing  the  anarchy  and  confusion  which  attend  the  dis 
solution  of  the  powers  of  governments,  we,  the  freemen, 
freeholders,  and  inhabitants  of  the  Province  of  Georgia,being 
greatly  alarmed  at  the  avowed  design  of  the  Ministry  to 
raise  a  revenue  in  America,  and  shocked  by  the  bloody  scene 
now  acting  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  do  in  the  most  solemn 
manner  resolve  never  to  become  slaves,  and  do  associate, 
under  all  the  ties  of  religion,  honor,  and  love  of  country,  to 


342  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

adopt  and  endeavor  to  carry  into  execution  whatever  may 
be  recommended  by  the  Continental  Congress  or  resolved 
upon  by  our  Provincial  Convention  that  shall  be  appointed 
for  the  purpose  of  preserving  our  Constitution,  and  opposing 
the  execution  of  the  several  arbitrary  and  oppressive  acts  of 
the  British  Parliament,  until  a  reconciliation  between  Great 
Britain  and  America  on  Constitutional  principles,  which  we 
most  ardently  desire,  can  be  obtained;  and  that  we  will  in  all 
things  follow  the  advice  of  our  General  Committee  to  be  ap 
pointed,  respecting  the  purposes  aforesaid— the  preservation 
of  peace  and  good  order  and  the  safety  of  individuals  and 
private  property. 

[Signed] 

"Lach'n  Mclntosh,  Geo.  Threadcraft, 

John  Fulton,  Chas.  McDonald, 

Samuel  Fulton,  John  Mclntosh, 

Isaac  Cuthbert,  Ray'd  Demere, 

Isaac  Hall,  Jiles  Moore, 

Jones  Newsom,  Samuel  McCleland, 

A.  Daniel  Cuthbert,  Peter  Sallens,  Jr., 

John  Hall,  James  Clark, 

John  McCullugh,  Sr.,  Jno.  Witherspoon,  Jr., 

John  McCullugh,  Jr.,  Jno.  Witherspoon, 

William  McCullugh,  Eeu.  Shuttleworth, 

Paul  Judton,  John  McCleland, 

John  Roland,  Richard  Cooper, 

Pr.  Shuttleworth,  Seth  McCullugh, 

Joseph  Stobe,  Thomas  King." 

To.  Bierry, 

"  GEORGIA  HOUSE  OF  ASSEMBLY,  ) 
'*  January,  1775.  \ 

"The  House,  taking  under  consideration  that  the  Parlia 
ment  of  Great  Britain  claim  a  power  of  right  to  bind  the 
people  of  America  by  Statute  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  and 
who  have  in  some  Acts  expressly  imposed  taxes  on  the 
Americans,  under  various  pretences,  but  in  fact  for  the  pur 
pose  of  raising  a  revenue,  hath  established  a  Board  of  Com 
missioners  with  unconstitutional  powers,  and  extended  the 
iurisdiction  of  the  Courts  of  Admiralty,  not  only  for  col 
lecting  the  duties  imposed  by  the  said  acts,  but  for  the  trial 
of  causes  merely  arising  within  the  body  of  the  county. 

' '  And  whereas,  Standing  armies  have  been  and  now  are 
kept  in  America  in  times  of  profound  peace;  and  being 
resolved  in  Parliament  that  by  force  of  a  statute  made  in 
the  thirty-fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Eighth, 
Colonists  may  be  transported  to  England  and  tried  there, 
upon  accusations  of  treasons,  and  misprisions  or  conceal 
ments  of  treason  committed  in  the  Colonies;  and  by  a  late 
Statute  such  trials  have  been  directed  in  cases  therein  men 
tioned.  And  whereas,  also,  Assemblies  have  been  frequently 


TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  343 

dissolved,  contrary  to  the  rights  of  the  people,  when  they 
attempted  to  deliberate  on  grievances ;  therefore  this  House 
doth,  as  Englishmen,  their  ancestors,  in  like  cases  have 
usually  done  for  assisting  and  vindicating  their  rights  and 
liberties,  declare, — 

"  1st.  That  the  inhabitants  of  the  English  Colonies  of 
North  America,  by  the  immutable  laws  of  nature,  the  prin 
ciples  of  the  English  Constitution,  and  the  several  charters 
or  compacts,  have  the  following  rights : 

"  2d.  Thati  they  are  entitled  to  life,  liberty,  and  property, 
and  they  have  never  ceded  to  any  Sovereign  power  whatever 
a  right  to  dispose  of  either  without  their  consent. 

"  3d.  That  our  ancestors  who  first  settled  these  Colonies 
were,  at  the  time  of  their  emigration  from  the  mother- 
country,  entitled  to  all  the  rights,  liberties,  and  immunities 
of  free  and  natural  born  subjects  within  the  realm  of  Eng 
land. 

"  4th.  That  by  such  emigration  they  by  no  means  for 
feited,  surrendered  or  lost  any  of  these  rights,  but  that  they 
were,  and  their  descendants  now  are,  entitled  to  the  exercise 
and  enjoyment  of  all  such  of  them  as  their  local  and  other 
circumstances  enable  them  to  exercise  and  enjoy. 

"  5th.  That  the  foundation  of  English  liberty  and  of  all 
free  government  is  a  right  in  the  people  to  participate  in  the 
Legislative  Council,  and,  as  the  English  Colonists  are  not 
represented,  and  from  their  local  and  other  circumstances 
cannot  properly  be  represented  in  the  British  Parliament, 
they  are  entitled  to  a  free  and  exclusive  power  of  legislation 
in  their  several  Provincial  Legislatures,  where  the  right  of 
representation  can  alone  be  preserved  in  all  cases  of  taxation 
and  internal  polity,  subject  only  to  the  negative  of  their 
Sovereigns  in  such  manner  as  has  been  heretofore  used  and 
accustomed ;  but  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  a  regard 
to  the  mutual  interests  of  both  countries,  we  cheerfully  con 
sent  to  the  operation  of  such  acts  of  the  British  Parliament 
as  are  bonafide  restrained  to  the  regulation  of  our  external 
commerce,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  commercial  ad 
vantages  of  the  whole  Empire  to  the  mother- country,  and 
the  commercial  benefits  of  its  respective  members,  excluding 
every  idea  of  taxation,  internal  or  external,  for  raising  a 
revenue  on  the  subjects  in  America,  without  their  consent. 

"  6th.  That  the  respective  Colonies  are  entitled  to  the 
Common  Law  of  England,  and  more  especially  to  the  great 
and  inestimable  privilege  of  being  tried  by  their  peers  of  the 
vicinage,  according  to  the  course  of  that  law. 

4  7th.  That  they  are  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  such  of  the 
English  Statutes  as  existed  at  the  time  of  their  Colonization, 
and  which  they  have  by  experience  respectively  found  to  be 
applicable  to  their  several  local  and  other  circumstances. 

"  8th.  That  his  Majesty's  Colonies  are  likewise  entitled  to 


344  THE  BIKTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

all  the  immunities  and  privileges  granted  and  confirmed  to 
them  by  royal  charters,  or  secured  by  their  several  codes  of 
Provincial  laws. 

' k  9th.  That  they;  have  a  right  peaceably  to  assemble  and 
consider  of  their  grievances,  and  petition  the  King ;  and  that 
all  prosecutions,  prohibitory  proclamations,  and  commit 
ments  for  the  same  are  illegal. 

"10th.  That  the  keeping  a  standing  army  in  these  Colo 
nies  in  times  of  peace,  without  consent  of  the  legislature  of 
that  Colony  in  which  such  army  is  kept,  is  against  law. 

"  llth.  And  it  is  indispensably  necessary  to  good  govern 
ment,  and  rendered  essential  by  the  English  Constitution, 
that  the  constituent  branches  of  the  legislature  be  independ 
ent  of  each  other. 

"Resolved,  That  the  exercise  of  legislative  power  in  any 
Colony,  by  a  Council  appointed  during  pleasure  by  the 
Crown,  may  prove  dangerous  and  destructive  to  the  freedom 
of  American  legislation. 

"All  and  each  of  which  the  Commons  of  Georgia,  in 
General  Assembly  met,  do  claim,  demand,  and  insist  on 
their  indubitable  rights  and  liberties,  which  cannot  be  legally 
taken  from  them,  altered  or  abridged  by  any  person  whatso 
ever,  without  their  consent. 

"  And  whereas,  There  are  many  infringements  and  vio 
lations  of  the  foregoing  rights,  which,  from  an  ardent  desire 
that  harmony  and  mutual  intercourse  of  affection  and  in 
terest  may  be  restored,  we  pass  over  for  the  present,  and 
proceed  to  state  such  acts  and  measures  as  have  been  adopted 
since  the  close  of  the  last  war,  which  demonstrate  a  system 
formed  to  enslave  America. 

"'Resolved,  That  the  following  acts  of  Parliament  are 
infringements  and  violations  of  the  rights  of  the  Colonists, 
and  that  the  repeal  of  them  is  essentially  necessary  in  order 
to  restore  harmony  between  Great  Britain  and  the  American 
Colonies,  viz.:  The  several  acts  of  4  George  the  Third, 
chapter  15  and  chapter  34 ;  5  George  the  Third,  chapter  25 ; 
6  George  the  Third,  chapter  52 ;  7  George  the  Third,  chapter 
41  and  chapter  46;  8  George  the  Third,  chapter  22;— which 
impose  duties  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America ; 
extend  the  powers  of  the  Admiralty  Courts  beyond  their 
ancient  limits;  deprive  the  American  subjects  of  trial  by 
jury;  authorize  the  judge's  certificate  to  indemnify  the 
prosecutor  from  damages  that  he  might  be  otherwise  en 
titled  to ;  requiring  oppressive  security  from  a  claimant  of 
ships  and  goods  seized  before  he  shall  be  allowed  to  defend 
his  property,  and  are  subversive  of  American  rights.  Also 
12  George  the  Third,  chapter  24,  entitled  '  An  Act  for  the 
better  securing  his  Majesty's  dock  yards,  magazines,  ships, 
ammunition  and  stores,'  which  declares  a  new  offence  in 
America,  and  deprives  the  American  subjects  of  a  consti- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  345 

tutional  trial  by  jury  of  the  vicinage,  by  authorizing  the 
trial  of  any  person  charged  with  committing  any  offence 
described  in  the  said  act  out  of  the  realm,  to  be  indicted 
and  tried  for  the  same  in  any  shire  or  county  within  the 
realm. 

"  Also  the  three  acts,  passed  in  the  last  session  of  Parlia 
ment,  for  stopping  the  port  and  blocking  up  the  harbor  of 
Boston ;  for  altering  the  Charter  and  government  of  Massa 
chusetts  Bay;  and  that  which  is  entitled  'An  Act  for  the 
Better  Administration  of  Justice,"  etc. 

"  Also  the  act,  passed  in  the  same  session,  for  establishing 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  in  the  Province  of  Quebec, 
abolishing  the  equitable  system  of  English  laws,  and  erect 
ing  a  tyranny  there,  to  the  great  danger,  from  so  total  a  dis 
similarity  of  religion,  law,  and  government,  to  the  neighbor 
ing  British  Colonies,  by  the  assistance  of  whose  blood  and 
treasure  the  said  country  was  conquered  from  France. 

"  Also  the  act,  passed  in  the  same  session,  for  the  better 
providing  suitable  quarters  for  officers  and  soldiers  in  his 
Majesty's  service  in  North  America.  Also  that  the  keeping 
a  standing  army  in  several  of  these  Colonies  in  time  of  peace, 
without  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  that  Colony  in  which 
such  army  is  kept,  is  against  law. 

"Resolved,  That  this  House  do  present  their  most  grate 
ful  acknowledgments  to  those  truly  noble,  honorable,  and 
patriotic  advocates  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  who  have  so 
generously  and  powerfully,  though  unsuccessfully,  espoused 
and  defended  the  cause  of  America  both  in  and  out  of  Par 
liament. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  House  be  given  to  the 
members  of  the  late  Continental  Congress  for  their  wise  and 
and  able  exertions  in  the  cause  of  American  liberty. 

"Resolved,  That  ...  be  deputies  to  represent  this  Prov 
ince  in  the  intended  American  Continental  Congress,  pro 
posed  to  be  held  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia  on  the  10th  of 
May  next,  or  any  other  place  or  time  as  may  hereafter  be 
agreed  on  by  the  said  Congress. 

"Ordered,  That  Mr.  Speaker  do  transmit  a  copy  of  the 
above  resolves  to  the  Honourable  Peyton  Randolph,  Esquire, 
President  of  the  said  Congress." 

Association 

entered  into  by  forty -five  of  the  deputies  assembled  in  Pro 
vincial  Congress  at  Savannah,  in  Georgia,  on  the  18th  of 
January,  1775,  and  by  them  subscribed  on  the  23d,  when  they 
chose  Noble  Wimberly  Jones,  Archibald  Bullock,  and  John 
Houston,  Esquires,  Delegates  to  represent  that  Colony  in  the 
Continental  Congress  to  be  held  in  May  next : 

"Whereas,  A  non-importation,  non-consumption,  and  non- 
exportation  agreement,  faithfully  adhered  to,  will  probably 


346  THE  BIRTH  OF1  THE  REPUBLIC. 

prove  the  most  speedy,  effectual,  and  peaceable  measure  to 
obtain  redress  of  American  grievances ;  we  do,  therefore,  for 
ourselves  and  our  constituents,  firmly  agree  and  associate, 
under  the  sacred  ties  of  virtue,  honor,  and  love  of  country, 
as  follows : 

' '  1st.  That  we  will  not  receive  into  this  Province  any  goods, 
wares,  or  merchandise  that  shall  be  shipped  from  Great 
Britain  or  Ireland  after  the  15th  day  of  March  next ;  or  from 
any  other  place  such  goods,  wares,  or  merchandises  as  shall 
be  shipped  from  those  kingdoms  after  that  time,  except  such 
as  come  under  the  rules  and  directions  of  the  ninth  article 
herein  mentioned,  and  except  such  goods,  wares,  or  mer 
chandises  as  are  absolutely  necessary  for  carrying  on  the 
Indian  trade,  subject  nevertheless  to  the  control  of  the  Con 
tinental  Congress,  intended  to  be  held  at  Philadephia  on  the 
10th  day  of  May  next.  Nor  will  we  from  this  day  import  or 
purchase  any  tea  from  any  part  of  the  world,  nor  import  any 
molasses,  syrups,  paneles,  coffee,  or  pimento  from  the  Brit 
ish  plantations,  or  from  Dominica,  nor  wines  from  Madeira, 
or  the  West  Indies,  nor  foreign  indigo. 

"  2d.  That  we  will  neither  import  nor  purchase  any  slaves 
imported  from  Africa  or  elsewhere,  after  the  15th  day  of 
March  next. 

"3d.  That  we  will  not  export  any  merchandise  or  com 
modity  whatever  to  Great  Britain  or  Ireland,  or  to  the  West 
Indies,  after  the  1st  day  of  December  next,  except  rice  to 
Europe. 

"4th.  Such  as  are  merchants  and  use  the  British  and 
Irish  trade  will  give  orders  as  soon  as  possible  to  their  fac 
tors,  agents,  and  correspondents  in  Great  Britain  and  Ire 
land  not  to  ship  any  goods  to  them  on.  any  pretence  what 
ever,  as  they  cannot  be  received  in  Georgia;  and  if  any 
merchants  residing  in  Great  Britain  or  Ireland  shall  directly 
or  indirectly  ship  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  for  this 
Province  in  order  to  break  such  non-importation  agreement 
or  in  any  manner  contravene  the  same,  on  such  unworthy 
conduct  being  well  attested,  it  ought  to  be  made  public ;  and 
on  the  same  being  so  done,  we  will  not  from  thenceforth 
have  any  commercial  connection  with  said  merchant. 

"5th.  That  such  as  are  owners  of  vessels  will  give  posi 
tive  orders  to  their  captains  or  masters  not  to  receive  on 
board  their  vessels  any  goods  prohibited  by  the  said  non 
importation  agreement  on  pain  of  immediate  dismission 
from  their  service." 

Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Savannah,  Ga. 

"At  a  meeting  of  sundry  gentlemen  at  Savannah  on 
Monday,  June  26,  1775,  it  was  unanimously, — 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  present  acts  of  Parliament  tending 
to  raise  a  revenue  in  America  are  grievances. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  347 

"  'Resolved,  therefore,  That  we  will  do  all  that  we  legally 
may  to  obtain  redress  of  those  grievances. 

*'  'Resolved,  That  Friday,  the  30th  instant,  June,  at  9 
o'clock  A.  M.,  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Cuyler,  be  a  day  ap 
pointed  for  a  meeting,  in  order  to  consult  the  most  expe 
dient  method  to  obtain  redress. ' " 

"PROVINCIAL  CONGRESS  OP  GEORGIA,  [ 
Thursday,  July  6,  1775.  f 

"The  order  of  the  day  being  read,  the  same  was  taken 
into  consideration,  and  after  some  deliberation  it  was  unani 
mously, — 

"  *1.  Resolved,  That  this  Province  will  adopt  and  carry 
into  execution  all  and  singular  the  measures  and  recom 
mendations  of  the  late  Continental  Congress. 

u  '  2.  Resolved  in  particular,  That  we,  in  behalf  of  ourselves 
and  our  constituents,  do  adopt  and  approve  of  the  American 
Declaration  or  Bill  of  Rights  published  by  the  late  Continen 
tal  Congress,  and  also  of  their  several  resolves  made  in  con 
sequence  of  some  infractions  thereof. 

"  '  3.  That  from  and  after  this  day  we  will  not  receive  into 
this  Province  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  shipped  from 
Great  Britain  or  Ireland ;  or  from  any  other  place  any  such 
goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  as  shall  have  been  exported  to 
Great  Britain  or  Ireland;  nor  shall  we  import  any  East 
India  tea  from  any  part  of  the  world,  nor  any  molasses, 
syrups,  paneles,  coffee,  or  pimento  from  the  British  planta 
tions  or  from  Dominica,  nor  wines  from  Madeira  or  the 
Western  Islands,  nor  foreign  indigo. 

"  '  4.  That  we  will  neither  import  nor  purchase  any  slaves 
imported  from  Africa,  or  elsewhere,  after  this  day. 

"  '  5.  As  a  n  on -consumption  agreement  strictly  adhered  to 
will  be  an  effectual  security  for  the  observation  of  the  non 
importation,  we  as  above  solemnly  agree  and  associate  that 
from  this  day  we  will  not  purchase  or  use  any  tea  imported 
on  account  of  the  East  India  Company,  or  any  on  which  a 
duty  hath  or  shall  be  paid ;  and  we  will  not  purchase  or  use 
any  East  India  tea  whatever,  nor  will  we,  nor  shall  any  per 
son  for  or  under  us,  purchase  any  of  these  goods,  wares,  or 
merchandise  we  have  agreed  not  to  import,  which  we  shall 
know  or  have  cause  to  suspect  were  imported  after  this  day. 

"  '  6.  The  earnest  desire  we  have,  not  to  injure  our  fellow- 
subjects  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  the  West  Indies, 
induces  us  to  suspend  a  non-exportation  until  the  tenth  day 
of  September,  1775,  at  which  time,  if  the  acts  and  parts  of 
acts  of  the  British  Parliament  hereinafter  mentioned  are  not 
repealed,  we  will  not  directly  or  indirectly  export  any  mer 
chandise  or  commodity  whatever  to  Great  Britain  or  Ire 
land  or  the  West  Indies,  except  rice  to  Europe. 

7.  Such  as  are  merchants,  and  use  the  British  and  Irish 


U    I 


348  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

trade,  will  give  orders  as  soon  as  possible  to  their  factors, 
agents,  and  correspondents  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  not 
to  ship  any  goods  to  them  on  any  pretence  whatever,  as  they 
cannot  he  received  in  this  Province ;  and  if  any  merchant 
residing  in  Great  Britain  or  Ireland  shall  directly  or  indi 
rectly  ship  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  for  America  in 
order  to  break  the  said  non-importation  agreement  or  in 
any  manner  contravene  the  same,  on  such  unworthy  con 
duct  being  well  attested,  it  ought  to  be  made  public ;  and  on 
the  same  being  so  done,  we  will  not  from  thenceforth  have 
any  commercial  connections  with  such  merchant. 

"  '  8.  That  such  as  are  owners  of  vessels  will  give  positive 
orders  to  their  captains  or  masters  not  to  receive  on  board 
their  vessels  any  goods  prohibited  by  the  said  non-importa 
tion  agreement,  on  pain  of  immediate  dismission  from  their 
service.' 

"  Monday,  July  10,  1775. 

"  The  following  resolves  were  unanimously  entered  into: 

"  *  Whereas,  By  the  unrelenting  fury  of  a  despotic  Minis 
try,  with  a  view  to  enforce  the  most  oppressive  acts  of  a  venal 
and  corrupt  Parliament,  an  army  of  mercenaries,  under  an 
unfeeling  commander,  has  actually  begun  a  civil  war  in 
America ;  and  whereas  the  apparent  iniquity  and  cruelty  of 
these  destructive  measures  have  however  had  this  good 
effect,  to  unite  men  of  all  ranks  in  the  common  cause;  and 
whereas,  to  consult  on  means  of  safety  and  the  method  of 
obtaining  redress,  the  good  people  of  this  Province  of  Geor 
gia  have  thought  proper  to  appoint  a  Provincial  Congress,— 
the  delegates  met  at  said  Congress,  now  assembled  from 
every  part  of  the  Province,  besides  adopting  the  resolutions 
of  the  late  Continental  Congress,  find  it  prudent  to  enter 
into  such  other  resolutions  as  may  best  express  their  own 
sense,  and  the  sense  of  their  constituents,  on  the  present  un 
happy  situation  of  things ;  and  therefore  thought  fit  and  nec 
essary  to  resolve  as  follows,  viz. : 

"  'Resolved,  That  we  were  born  free,  and  are  entitled  to 
all  the  natural  rights  of  mankind. 

"  'Resolved,  That  by  birth  or  incorporation  we  are  all 
Britons;  and  whatever  Britons  may  claim  as  their  birth 
rights,  is  also  ours. 

' ' '  Resolved ,  That  in  the  British  empire,  to  which  we  belong, 
the  Constitution  is  superior  to  every  man  or  set  of  men 
whatever ;  and  that  it  is  a  crime  of  the  deepest  dye,  in  any 
instance,  to  impair  or  take  it  away,  or  deprive  the  meanest 
subject  of  its  benefits. 

"  'Resolved,  That  in  that  part  of  the  American  continent 
which  we  inhabit  was  originally  granted  by  the  Crown  and 
the  Charter  from  Charles  the  Second,  and  expressly  makes 
its  Constitutional  dependence  on  the  Crown  only. 

"  *  Resolved,  That  those  who  would  now  subject  all  Amer- 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  349 

ica,  or  this  Province,  to  dependency  on  the  Crown  and  Par 
liament,  are  guilty  of  a  very  dangerous  innovation,  which 
in  time  will  appear  as  injurious  to  the  Crown  as  it  is  incon 
sistent  with  the  liberty  of  the  American  subject. 

'"Resolved,  That  by  the  law  of  nature  and  the  British 
Constitution,  no  man  can  legally  be  deprived  of  his  property 
without  his  consent,  given  by  himself  or  his  representatives. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  for 
raising  a  perpetual  revenue  on  the  Americans  by  laying  a 
tax  on  them  without  their  consent  and  contrary  to  their 
protestations,  are  diametrically  opposite  to  every  idea  of 
property,  to  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  and  at  one  stroke 
deprives  this  vast  continent  of  all  liberty  and  property,  and 
as  such  must  be  detested  by  every  well-wisher  to  Great 
Britain  and  America. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  subsequent  laws  made  with  a  view 
to  enforce  these  acts,  viz, — the  Boston  Port  Bill,  the  altera 
tion  of  their  Charter,  the  act  to  carry  beyond  sea  for  trial, 
and  (what  refines  upon  any  species  of  cruelty)  the  Fishery 
Bill,— are  of  such  a  complexion  that  we  can  say  nothing 
about  them  for  want  of  words  to  express  our  abhorrence 
and  detestation. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  loyalty,  patience,  and  prudence  of 
the  inhabitants  of  New  England,  under  their  unparalelled 
pressures,  having  been  construed  into  a  timidity  and  dread 
of  regular  troops,  a  civil  war  in  support  of  acts  extremely 
oppressive  in  themselves  hath  actually  been  begun,  and 
that  there  is  too  much  reason  to  believe  that  plans  have 
been  in  agitation  big  with  everything  horrible  to  other 
Provinces — plans  as  rash,  barbarous,  and  destructive  as  the 
cause  which  they  were  intended  to  serve. 

"'  Resolved,  That  in  these  times  of  extreme  danger,  our 
Assembly  not  being  permitted  to  sit,  we  must  either  have 
been  a  people  without  all  thought  or  counsel,  or  have  assem 
bled  as  we  now  are  in  Provincial  Congress,  to  consult  upon 
measures  which,  under  God,  may  prove  the  means  of  a  per 
petual  union  with  the  mother-country  and  tend  to  the 
honor,  freedom,  and  safety  of  both. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  Province  bears  all  true  allegiance  to 
our  own  rightful  sovereign,  King  George  the  Third,  and 
always  will  and  ought  to  bear  it,  agreeable  to  the  Constitu 
tion  of  Great  Britain,  bv  virtue  of  which  only  the  King  is 
now  our  sovereign,  and  which  equally  bind,  Majesty  and 
subjects. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  are  truly  sensible  how  much  our  hap 
piness  and  safety  depend  on  a  Constitutional  connection 
with  Great  Britain ;  and  that  nothing  but  the  being  deprived 
of  the  privileges  and  natural  rights  of  Britons  could  ever 
make  the  thought  of  a  separation  otherwise  than  intol 
erable, 


350  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"  'Resolved,  That  in  case  his  Majesty  or  his  successors 
shall  at  any  time  hereafter  make  any  requisition  to  the  good 
people  of  this  Province  by  his  representative,  it  will  be  just 
and  right  that  such  sums  should  be  granted  as  the  nature  of 
the  service  may  require  and  the  ability  and  situation  of 
this  Province  will  admit  of. 

u  *  Eesolved,  That  this  Province  join  with  all  the  Provinces 
in  America,  now  met  by  Delegates  in  Continental  Congress, 
and  that  John  Houston  and  Archibald  Bullock,  Esquires, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Zubly,  Lyman  Hall,  and  Noble  Wimberly 
Jones,  Esquires,  be  the  Delegates  from  this  Province,  and 
that  any  three  constitute  a  quorum  for  that  purpose. 

"  *  Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  see  that  the  resolutions  of  the  Continental  and 
Provincial  Congresses  be  duly  observed ;  and  that  every  per 
son  who  shall  act  in  opposition  thereto  shall  have  his  name 
transmitted  to  the  Continental  Congress  and  his  misdeeds 
published  in  every  American  paper. " 

Temporary  Constitution  of  Georgia. 
"  Colony  of  Georgia  : 

"  Whereas,  The  unwise  and  iniquitous  system  of  adminis 
tration  qbstinatelv  persisted  in  by  the  British  Parliament 
and  Ministry,  against  the  good  people  of  America,  hath  at 
length  driven  the  latter  to  take  up  arms,  as  their  last  re 
source,  for  the  preservation  of  their  rights  and  liberties 
which  God  and  the  Constitution  gave  them ; 

"And  whereas,  An  armed  force,  with  hostile  intentions 
against  the  people  of  this  Province,  having  lately  arrived  at 
Cockspur,  his  Excellence  Sir  James  Wright,  Baronet,  the 
King's  Governor  of  Georgia,  in  aid  of  the  views  of  Adminis 
tration,  and  with  a  design  to  add  to  those  inconveniences 
which  necessarily  flow  from  a  state  of  confusion,  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly  withdrew  himself  from  his  government, 
carrying  off  the  great  seal  of  the  Province  with  him ; 

"And  whereas  in  consequence  of  this  and  other  events, 
doubts  have  arisen  with  the  several  magistrates  how  far  they 
are  authorized  to  act  under  their  former  appointments,  and 
the  greatest  part  of  them  have  absolutely  refused  to  do  so, 
whereby  all  judicial  powers  are  become  totally  suspended, 
to  the  great  danger  of  persons  and  property : 

"  1st.  That  there  shall  be  a  President  and  Commander-in- 
Chief  appointed  by  ballot  in  this  Congress  for  six  months, 
or  during  the  time  above  specified. 

"2d.  That  there  shall  in  like  manner,  and  for  the  like 
time,  be  also  a  Council  of  Safety,  consisting  of  ^thirteen  per 
sons  (besides  the  five  Delegates  to  the  general  Congress), 
appointed  to  act  in  the  nature  of  a  Privy  Council  to  the  said 
president  or  commander  in-chief . 

"3d.  That  the  President  shall  be  invested  with  all  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  351 

executive  powers  of  Government,  not  inconsistent  with  what 
is  hereafter  mentioned,  but  shall  be  bound  to  consult  and 
follow  the  advice  of  the  said  Council  in  all  cases  whatso 
ever;  and  any  seven  of  the  said  Council  shall  be  a  quorum 
for  the  purpose  of  advising. 

U4th.  That  all  the  laws,  whether  common  or  statute,  and 
the  acts  of  Assembly  which  have  formerly  been  acknowl 
edged  to  be  of  force  in  this  Province,  and  which  do  not  in 
terfere  with  the  proceedings  of  the  Continental  or  our  Pro 
vincial  Congresses,  and  also  all  and  singular  the  resolves 
and  recommendations  of  the  said  Continental  and  Provin 
cial  Congresses,  shall  be  of  full  force,  validity,  and  effect, 
until  otherwise  ordered. 

' '  5th.  That  there  shall  be  a  chief -justice,  and  two  assistant 
judges,  an  attorney-general,  a  provost-marshal,  and  clerk 
of  the  Court  of  Sessions  appointed  by  ballot  to  serve  during 
the  pleasure  of  the  Congress.  The  Court  of  Sessions  or  Oyer 
and  Terminer  shall  be  opened  and  held  on  the  second  Tues 
day  in  June  and  December,  and  the  former  rules  and  meth 
od  of  proceeding,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  shall  be  observed  in 
summoning  of  juries,  and  all  other  cases  whatever. 

"  6th.  That  the  president  or  commander-in-chief,  with  the 
advice  of  the  Council  as  before  mentioned,  shall  appoint 
magistrates  to  act  during  pleasure  in  the  several  parishes 
throughout  this  Province ;  and  such  magistrates  shall  con 
form  themselves  as  nearly  as  may  be  to  the  old-established 
form  and  methods  of  proceeding. 

u  7th.  That  all  legislative  powers  shall  be  reserved  to  the 
Congress;  and  no  person  who  holds  any  place  of  profit, 
civil  or  military,  shall  be  eligible  as  a  member,  either  of  the 
Congress  or  Council  of  Safety." 

Georgia  Council  of  Safety. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  30th  April,  1776, 
Present:  John  Wereat,  Ben jamin  Andrews,  George  Walton, 
John  Girardeau,  Samuel  Salters,  Jonathan  Bryan,  Daniel 
Roberts, — 

"Resolved,  That  the  following  address  be  presented  to 
his  Excellency  the  president ;  and  that  Messrs.  Wereat  and 
Roberts  do  wait  on  his  Excellency  to  know  when  he  will  be 
pleased  to  receive  the  same : 

"  (To  his  Excellency  Archibald  Bullock,  Esquire,  President  and  Commander-in- 
chief  of  tfie  Province  of  Georgia  : 

"  '  The  address  of  the  Council  of  Safety  for  the  said 
Province : 

"  '  May  it  please  your  Excellency:  The  long  session  of 
the  late  Congress,  together  with  the  season  of  the  year,  called 
particularly  for  a  speedy  recess ;  and  the  House  having  ad 
journed  while  you  were  out  of  town,  it  becomes  more  par* 


352  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

ticularly  necessary  for  us  to  address  your  Excellency.  All 
therefore,  with  unfeigned  confidence  and  regard,  beg  leave  to 
congratulate,  not  only  your  Excellency  on  your  appoint 
ment  to,  but  your  country  on  your  acceptance  of,  the  su 
preme  command  in  this  Province. 

"  'It  would  be  needless  and  tedious  to  recount  the  vari 
ous,  and  yet  multiplying  oppressions,  which  have  driven  the 
people  of  this  Province  to  erect  that  government  which  they 
have  called  upon  you  to  see  executed ;  suffice  it  then  to  de 
clare  that  it  was  only  an  alternative  of  anarchy  and  misery, 
and  by  consequence,  the  effect  of  dire  necessity. 

"  'Your  Excellency  will  know  that  it  was  the  endeavor 
of  the  Congress  to  stop  every  avenue  of  vice  and  oppression 
lest  the  infant  virtue  of  a  still  more  infant  Province  might 
in  time  rankle  into  corruption ;  and  we  doubt  not  that  by 
•your  Excellency's  exertions  all  the  resolutions  made  or 
adopted  by  Congress  will  be  enforced  with  firmness  without 
any  regard  to  any  individual  or  any  set  of  men ;  for  no  gov 
ernment  can  be  said  to  be  established  while  any  part  of  the 
community  refuses  submission  to  its  authority.  In  the  dis 
charge  of  this  arduous  and  important  task  your  Excellency 
may  rely  on  our  constant  and  best  endeavors  to  assist  and 
support  you. ' 

"  Messrs.  John  Wereat  and  Daniel  Roberts  waited  on  the 
president,  who  informed  them  that  he  would  be  ready  to 
receive  their  address  on  to-morrow  morning  at  nine  o'clock.' 

"  May  1,  1776. 

u  The  board  waited  on  his  Excellency  the  president  with 
their  address,  to  which  he  was  pleased  to  give  the  following 
answer : 

"  '  To  the  Honourable  tJie  Members  of  the  Council  of  Safety  of  the  Province  of 
Georgia: 

11  'HONOURABLE  GENTLEMEN:  I  am  much  obliged  to  you 
for  your  kind  expressions  of  congratulation  on  my  appoint 
ment  to  the  supreme  command  of  this  Colony. 

"  'When  I  reflect  from  whence  the  appointment  is  de 
rived, — that  of  the  free  and  uncorrupt  suffrages  of  my  fel 
low-citizens,— it  cannot  fail  to  stimulate  me  to  the  most 
vigorous  exertions  in  the  discharge  of  the  important  duties 
to  which  I  am  called  by  our  Provincial  Congress.  While  I 
have  the  advice  and  assistance  of  gentlemen  of  known  in 
tegrity  and  abilities,  I  doubt  not  but  I  shall  be  enabled  to 
enforce  and  carry  into  execution  every  resolve  and  law  of 
Congress.  Arid  as  far  as  lies  with  me,  my  country  may  de 
pend  I  will  with  a  becoming  firmness  and  the  greatest  im 
partiality,  always  endeavour  to  cause  justice  in  mercy  to 
te  executed. 

"  'ARCHIBALD  BULLOCK.'  " 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  353 

"  WlLLIAMSBURG,  VA.,  ) 

June  15,  1776.      j 

"This  day  arrived  in  town  from  Georgia,  on  his  way  to 
the  general  Congress,  George  Walton,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Dele 
gates  from  that  Province;  also  Lieutenants  Walton  and 
Pannell  on  the  recruiting  service.  By  these  gentlemen  we 
learn  that  the  Constitution  of  Georgia  have  authorized  their 
Delegates  in  Congress  to  concur  in  any  scheme  which  may 
be  proposed  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  Colonies,  even  to  a 
total  separation  from  Great  Britain,  and  that  in  the  mean 
while  a  form  of  government  had  been  established  in  the 
Province." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  Continental  Congress  was  a  popular  convention,  not 
differently  constituted  from  the  party  conventions  of  the 
present  day.  It  is  true  that  the  Delegates  from  some  of  the 
Colonies  were  authorized  or  elected  by  the  General  As 
semblies  ;  but  others  were  chosen  by  popular  meetings  or 
conventions.  Even  those  who  were  sent  up  by  the  Assem 
blies  could  be  clothed  with  no  legal  authority,  for  the  reason 
that  there  was  no  authority  given  in  the  Colonial  Charters 
for  organizing  a  federal  legislature. 

It  is  also  true  that  it  was  no  part  of  the  policy  of  the  Colo 
nies  to  confer  legislative  authority  upon  the  Federal  Congress ; 
and  such  authority  was  never  given  until  the  Constitution 
was  adopted.  The  Congress  could  declare  war,  raise  armies, 
appoint  commanders,  and  even  declare  independence.  It 
could  declare  what  revenues  were  necessary  to  support  and 
equip  the  armies,  and  how  much  should  be  contributed  by 
each  Colony ;  but  it  could  not  levy  and  collect  taxes  in  any 
form.  It  could  not  pass  a  tariff  act  of  duties  on  imported 
goods;  nor  impose  direct  taxes;  nor  establish  a  system  of 
excise  laws,  or  taxes  upon  consumption.  And  in  the  want 
of  this  power  of  taxation,  it  wanted  everything  essential  to 
a  government.  Nothing  but  the  patriotic  devotion  of  the 
people  to  the  common  cause  of  liberty  gave  any  strength  to 
this  voluntary  system;  and  nothing  else  gave  any  force  to 
the  ordinances  and  resolutions  of  the  Congress.  No  authori 
ty  to  enact  laws  was  ever  asserted  or  claimed  by  the  Con 
gress. 

In  November,  1777,  after  the  revolted  Colonies  had  become 
States,  an  effort  was  made  to  give  legality  to  the  Congress, 
by  the  adoption  of  Articles  of  Confederation.  But  the  new 
States  were  still  too  tenacious  of  their  individual  sovereign 
ty  to  part  with  the  power  of  taxation.  The  result  was  that 
the  "Congress  of  the  Confederation"  remained  as  weak  as 
the  "  Continental  Congress"  had  been.  The  Articles,  indeed 


354  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  HEPUBLIC. 

were  not  adopted  or  ratified  by  all  the  States,  and  put  in 
force  until  March,  17S1,  only  eight  months  before  the  last 
battle  for  independence  was  fought,  at  Yorktown.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  point  to  a  single  clause  or  section  of  the 
Articles  which  conferred  any  additional  power  upon  the 
Congress  which  had  not  been  exercised  from  1775  forward. 
The  Articles  of  Confederation  are  as  follows : 

ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION  AND  PERPETUAL  UNION  BETWEEN 
THE  STATES. 

The  following  have  been  critically  compared  with  the 
original  Articles  of  Confederation  in  the  Department  of 
State,  and  found  to  conform  minutely  to  them  in  text,  let 
ter,  and  punctuation.  It  may  therefore  be  relied  upon  as  a 
true  copy  :* 

"TO  ALL  TO  WHOM  THESE  PRESENTS  SHALL 
COME,  WE  THE  UNDERSIGNED  DELEGATES  OF  THE 
STATES  AFFIXED  TO  OUR  NAMES,  SEND  GREETING. 
—Whereas  the  Delegates  of  the  United  States  of  America  in 
Congress  assembled  did  on  the  15th  day  of  November  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1777,  and  in  the  Second  Year  of  the  Inde 
pendence  of  America  agree  to  certain  articles  of  Confedera 
tion  and  perpetual  Union  between  the  States  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  Massachusetts-Bay,  Rhode-Island  and  Providence 
Plantations,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl 
vania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North-Carolina,  South- 
Corolina,  and  Georgia,  in  the  words  following,  viz. 

"ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION  AND  PERPET 
UAL  UNION  BETWEEN  THE  STATES  OF  NEW-HAMP 
SHIRE,  MASSACHUSETTS-BAY,  RHODE-ISLAND  AND 
PROVIDENCE  PLANTATIONS,  CONNECTICUT,  NEW- 
YORK,  NEW  JERSEY,  PENNSYLVANIA,  DELAWARE, 
MARYLAND,  VIRGINIA,  NORTH-CAROLINA,  SOUTH- 
CAROLINA,  AND  GEORGIA. 

"ARTICLE  I.  The  Stile  of  this  Confederacy  shall  be 
'  The  United  States  of  America.' 

"ARTICLE  II.  Each  State  retains  its  sovereignty,  free 
dom  and  independence,  and  every  Power,  Jurisdiction  and 
right,  which  is  not  by  this  Confederation  expressly  delegated 
to  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled. 

"ARTICLE  III.  The  said  States  hereby  severally  enter 
into  a  firm  league  of  friendship  with  each  other,  for  their 
common  defence,  the  security  of  their  Liberties,  and  their 
mutual  and  general  welfare,  binding  themselves  to  assist 
each  other,  against  all  force  offered  to,  or  attacks  made 
upon  them,  or  any  of  them,  on  account  of  religion,  sovereign 
ty,  trade,  or  any  other  pretence  whatever. 
.  "  ARTICLE  IV.  The  better  to  secure  and  perpetuate 
mutual  friendship  and  intercourse  among  the  people  of  the 
different  States  in  this  union,  the  free  inhabitants  of  each  of 

*Hickey's  Constitution. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  355 

these  states,  paupers,  vagabonds,  and  fugutives  from  Justice 
excepted,  snail  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunities 
of  free  citizens  in  the  several  States ;  and  the  people  of  each 
state  shall  have  free  ingress  and  regress  to  and  from  any 
other  State,  and  shall  enjoy  therein  all  the  privileges  of 
trade  and  commerce,  subject  to  the  same  duties,  impositions 
and  restrictions  as  the  inhabitants  thereof  respectively, 
provided  that  such  restrictions  shall  not  extend  so  far  as  to 
prevent  the  removal  of  property  imported  into  any  State, 
to  any  other  state  of  which  the  Owner  is  an  inhabitant; 
provided  also  that  no  imposition,  duties  or  restriction  shall 
be  laid  by  any  state,  on  the  property  of  the  United  States  or 
either  of  them. 

"  If  any  person  guilty  of,  or  charged  with  treason,  felony, 
or  other  high  misdemeanor  in  any  State,  shall  flee  from 
Justice,  and  be  found  in  any  of  the  United  States,  he  shall 
upon  demand  of  the  Governor  or  executive  power,  of  the 
State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  and  removed  to 
the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  his  offence. 

"  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  of  these 
States  to  the  records,  acts  and  judicial  proceedings  of  the 
courts  and  magistrates  of  every  other  state. 

"ARTICLE  V.  For  the  more  convenient  management 
of  the  general  interest  of  the  United  States,  delegates  shall 
be  annually  appointed  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  of 
each  State  shall  direct,  to  meet  in  Congress  on  the  first 
Monday -in  November,  in  every  year,  with  a  power  reserved 
to  each  State,  to  recall  its  delegates,  or  any  of  them,  at  any 
time  within  the  year,  and  to  send  others  in  their  stead,  for 
the  remainder  of  the  Year. 

"No  State  shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by  less  than 
two,  nor  by  more  than  seven  members ;  and  no  person  shall 
be  capable  of  being  a  delegate  for  more  than  three  years  in 
any  term  of  six  years;  nor  shall  any  person,  being  a  dele 
gate,  be  capable  of  holding  any  office  under  the  United 
States,  for  which  he,  or  another  for  his  benefit  receives  any 
salary,  fees  or  emolument  of  any  kind. 

"Each  State  shall  maintain  its  own  delegates  in  any 
meeting  of  the  States,  and  while  they  act  as  members  of  the 
committee  of  the  States. 

' '  In  determining  questions  in  the  United  States,  in  Con 
gress  assembled,  each  State  shall  have  one  vote. 

' '  Freedom  of  speech  and  debate  in  Congress  shall  not  be 
impeached  or  questioned  in  any  court,  or  place  out  of  Con 
gress,  and  the  members  of  Congress  shall  be  protected  in 
their  persons  from  arrests  and  imprisonments,  during  the 
time  of  their  going  to  and  from,  and  attendance  on  Congress, 
except  for  treason,  felony,  or  breach  of  the  peace. 

"ARTICLE  VI.  No'  State  without  the  consent  of  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  send  any  embassy 


356  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

to,  or  receive  any  embassy  from,  or  enter  into  any  confer 
ence,  agreement,  alliance  or  treaty  with  any  King,  prince  or 
State ;  nor  shall  any  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or 
trust  under  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them,  accept  of  any 
present,  emolument,  office  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever 
from  any  king,  prince  or  foreign  State ;  nor  shall  the  United 
States  in  congress  assembled,  or  any  of  them,  grant  any 
title  of  nobility. 

"  No  two  or  more  States  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  Con 
federation  or  alliance  whatever  between  them,  without  the 
consent  of  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled,  specify 
ing  accurately  the  purposes  for  which  the  same  is  to  be 
entered  into,  and  how  long  it  shall  continue. 

"  No  State  shall  lay  any  imposts  or  duties,  which  may  in 
terfere  with  any  stipulations  in  treaties,  entered  into  by  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  with  any  king,  prince 
or  state,  in  pursuance  of  any  treaties  already  proposed  by 
Congress,  to  the  courts  of  France  and  Spain. 

"No  vessel  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  by 
any  State,  except  such  number  only,  as  shall  be  deemed 
necessary  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  for 
the  defence  of  such  State,  or  its  trade ;  nor  shall  any  body  of 
forces  be  kept  up  by  any  State,  in  time  of  peace,  except  such 
number  only,  as  in  the  judgment  of  the  United  States,  in 
Congress  assembled,  shall  be  deemed  requisite  to  garrison 
the  torts  necessary  ror  the  defence  of  such  State ;  but  every 
State  shall  always  keep  up  a  well  regulated  and  disciplined 
militia,  sufficiently  armed  and  accoutred,  and  shall  provide 
and  have  constantly  ready  for  use,  in  public  stores,  a  due 
number  of  field  pieces  and  tents,  and  a  proper  quantity  of 
arms,  ammunition  and  camp  equipage. 

"  No  State  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  consent  of 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  unless  such  State 
be  actually  invaded  by  enemies,  or  shall  have  received  cer 
tain  advice  of  a  resolution  being  formed  by  some  nation  of 
Indians  to  invade  such  State,  and  the  danger  is  so  imminent 
as  not  to  admit  of  a  delay,  till  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled  can  be  consulted :  nor  shall  any  State  grant  com 
missions  to  any  shins  or  vessels  of  war,  nor  letters  of  marque 
or  reprisal,  except  it  be  after  a  declaration  of  war  by  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  and  then  only  against 
the  kingdom  or  State  and  the  subjects  thereof,  against  which 
war  has  been  so  declared,  and  under  such  regulations  as 
shall  be  established  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  as 
sembled,  unless  such  State  be  infested  by  pirates,  m  which 
case  vessels  of  war  may  be  fitted  out  for  that  occasion,  and 
keut  so  long  as  the  danger  shall  continue,  or  until  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  determine  other 
wise. 

11  ARTICLE  VII.  When  land-forces  are  raised  by  any  State 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  367 

for  the  common  defence,  all  officers  of  or  under  the  rank  of 
Colonel,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  legislature  of  each  State 
respectively  by  whom  such  forces  shall  be  raised,  or  in  such 
manner  as  such  State  shall  direct,  and  all  vacancies  shall  be 
filled  up  by  the  State  which  first  made  the  appointment. 

"ARTICLE  VIII.  All  charges  of  war,  and  all  other  ex 
penses  that  shall  be  incurred  for  the  common  defence  or 
general  welfare,  and  allowed  by  the  United  States  in  Con 
gress  assembled,  shall  be  defrayed  out  of  a  common  treasury, 
which  shall  be  supplied  by  the  several  States,  in  proportion 
•to  the  value  of  all  land  within  each  State,  granted  to  or  sur 
veyed  for  any  person,  as  such  land  and  the  buildings  and 
improvements  thereon  shall  be  estimated  according  to  such 
mode  as  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  from 
time  to  time,  direct  and  appoint.  The  taxes  for  paying  that 
proportion  shall  be  laid  and  levied  by  the  authority  and 
direction  of  the  legislatures  of  the  several  States  within 
the  time  agreed  upon  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  as 
sembled. 

"  ARTICLE  IX.  The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled, 
shall  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  deter 
mining  on  peace  and  war,  except  in  the  cases  mentioned  in 
the  6th  article— of  sending  and  receiving  ambassadors- 
entering  into  treaties  and  alliances,  provided  that  no  treaty 
of  commerce  shall  be  made,  whereby  the  legislative  power 
of  the  respective  States  shall  be  restrained  from  imposing 
such  imposts  and  duties  on  foreigners,  as  their  own  people 
are  subjected  to,  or  from  prohibiting  the  exportation  or  im 
portation  of  any  species  of  goods  or  commodities  whatsoever 
— of  establishing  rules  for  deciding  in  all  cases,  what  captures 
on  land  or  water  shall  be  legal,  and  in  what  manner  prizes 
taken  by  land  or  naval  forces  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  divided  or  appropriated — of  granting  letters 
of  marque  and  reprisal  in  times  of  peace — appointing  courts 
for  the  trial  of  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high 
seas  and  establishing  courts  for  receiving  and  determining 
finally  appeals  in  all  cases  of  captures  provided  that  no 
member  of  Congress  shall  be  appointed  a  judge  of  any  of  the 
said  courts. 

"The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  also  be 
the  last  resort  on  appeal  in  all  disputes  and  differences  now 
subsisting  or  that  hereafter  may  arise  between  two  or  more 
States  concerning  boundary,  jurisdiction,  or  any  other  cause 
whatever ;  which  authority  shall  always  be  exercised  in  the 
manner  following.  Whenever  the  legislative  or  executive 
authority  or  lawful  agent  of  any  State  in  controversy  with 
another  shall  present  a  petition  to  Congress,  stating  the 
matter  in  (question  and  praying  for  a  hearing,  notice  thereof 
shall  be  given  by  order  of  Congress  to  the  legislative  or  ex 
ecutive  authority  of  the  other  State  in  controversy,  and  a 


THE  BIRTH  OP  THE  REPUBLIC. 

day  assigned  for  the  appearance  of  the  parties  by  their  law 
ful  agents*  who  shall  then  be  directed  to  appoint  by  joint 
consent,  commissioners  or  judges  to  constitute  a  court  for 
hearing  and  determining  the  matter  in  question :  but  if  they 
cannot  agree.  Congress  shall  name  three  persons  out  of  each 
of  the  United  States,  and  from  the  list  of  such  persons  each 
party  shall  alternately  strike  out  one,  tho  petitioners  begin 
ning,  until  the  number  shall  be  reduced  to  thirteen;  and 
from  that  number  not  less  than  seven,  nor  more  than  nine 
names  as  Congress  shall  direct,  shall  in  the  presence  of  Con 
gress  be  drawn  out  by  lot,  and  the  persons  whose  names- 
shall  be  so  drawn  or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be  commissioners 
or  judges,  to  hear  and  finally  determine  the  controversy,  so 
always  as  a  major  part  of  the  judges  who  shall  hear  the 
cause  shall  agree  in  the  determination :  and  if  either  party- 
shall  neglect  to  attend  at  the  day  appointed,  without  show 
ing  reasons,  which  Congress  shall  judge  sufficient,  or  being 
present  shall  refuse  to  strike,  the  Congress  shall  proceed  to 
nominate  three  persons  out  of  each  State,  and  the  secretary 
of  Congress  shall  strike  in  behalf  of  such  parCy  absent  or  re 
fusing;  and  the  judgment  and  sentence  of  the  court  to  be 
appointed,  in  the  manner  before  prescribed,  shall  be  final 
and  conclusive ;  and  if  any  of  the  parties  shall  refuse  to  sub 
mit  to  the  authority  of  such  court,  or  to  appear  or  defend 
their  claim  or  cause,  the  court  shall  nevertheless  proceed  to 
pronounce  sentence,  or  judgment,  which  shall  in  like  man 
ner  be  final  and  decisive,  the  judgment  or  sentence  and  other 
proceedings  being  in  either  case  transmitted  to  Congress, 
and  lodged  among  the  acts  of  Congress  for  the  security  of 
the  parties  concerned :  provided  that  every  commissioner  be 
fore  he  sits  in  judgment,  shall  take  an  oath  to  be  admin 
istered  by  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  or  Superior 
Court  of  the  State,  where  the  cause  shall  be  tried,  '  well  and 
truly  to  hear  and  determine  the  matter  in  question,  accord 
ing  to  the  best  of  his  judgment,  without  favour,  affection  or 
hope  of  reward :'  provided  also  that  no  State  shall  be  deprived 
of  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States. 

"All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of  soil 
claimed  under  different  grants  of  two  or  more  States,  whose 
jurisdictions  as  they  may  respect  such  lands,  and  the  States 
which  passed  such  grants  are  adjusted,  the  said  grants  or 
either  of  them  being  at  the  same  time  claimed  to  have 
originated  antecedent  to  such  settlement  of  jurisdiction, 
shall  on  the  petition  of  either  party  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  be  finally  determined  as  near  as  may  be  in 
the  same  manner  as  is  before  prescribed  for  deciding  dis 
putes  respecting  the  territorial  jurisdiction  between  different 
States. 

"  The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  also  have 
the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  regulating  the 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  359 

alloy  and  value  of  coin  struck  by  their  own  authority,  or  by 
that  of  the  respective  States — fixing  the  standard  of  weights 
and  measures  throughout  the  United  States— regulating  the 
trade  and  managing  all  affairs  with  the  Indians,  not  mem 
bers  of  any  of  the  States,  provided  that  the  legislative  right 
of  any  state  within  its  own  limits  be  not  infringed  or  vio 
lated—establishing  or  regulating  post-offices  from  one  State 
to  another,  throughout  all  the  United  States,  and  exacting 
such  postage  on  the  papers  passing  thro'  the  same  as 
may  be  requisite  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  said  office- 
appointing  all  officers  of  the  land  forces,  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States,  excepting  regimental  officers— appointing 
all  the  officers  of  the  naval  forces,  and  commissioning  all 
officers  whatever  in  the  service  of  the  United  States — mak 
ing  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  said  land 
and  naval  forces,  and  directing  their  operations. 

"The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  have 
authority  to  appoint  a  committee,  to  sit  in  the  recess  of 
Congress,  to  be  denominated  *  A  Committee  of  the  States,' 
and  to  consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  State ;  and  to  ap 
point  such  other  committees  and  civil  officers  as  may  be 
necessary  for  managing  the  general  affairs  of  the  United 
States  under  their  direction— to  appoint  one  of  their  number 
to  preside,  provided  that  no  person  be  allowed  to  serve  in 
the  office  of  President  more  than  one  year  in  any  term  of 
three  years ;  to  ascertain  the  necessary  sums  of  Money  to  be 
raised  for  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  to  appropri 
ate  and  apply  the  same  for  defraying  the  public  expenses — 
to  borrow  money,  or  emit  bills  on  the  credit  of  the  United 
States,  transmitting  every  half  year  to  the  respective  States 
an  account  of  the  sums  of  money  so  borrowed  or  emitted — 
to  build  and  equip  a  navy— to  agree  upon  the  number  of 
land  forces,  and  to  make  requisitions  from  each  State  for 
its  quota,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  white  inhabitants 
in  such  State ;  which  requisition  shall  be  binding,  and  there 
upon  the  legislature  of  each  State  shall  appoint  the  regimen 
tal  officers,  raise  the  men  and  cloath,  arm  and  equip  them 
in  a  soldier  like  manner,  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States ; 
and  the  officers  and  men  so  cloathed,  armed  and  equipped 
shall  march  to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time 
agreed  on  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled :  But 
if  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall,  on  con 
sideration  of  circumstances  judge  proper  that  any  State 
should  not  raise  men,  or  should  raise  a  smaller  number  than 
its  quota,  and  that  any  other  State  should  raise  a  greater  num 
ber  of  men  than  the  quota  thereof,  such  extra  number  shall 
be  raised,  officered,  cloathed,  armed,  and  equipped  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  quota  of  such  State,  unless  the  legisla 
ture  of  such  State  shall  judge  that  such  extra  number  can 
not  be  safely  spared  out  of  the  same,  in  which  case  the/ 


360  THE  BIRTH  OF  TEE  REPUBLIC. 

shall  raise,  officer,  cloath,  arm,  and  equip  as  many  of  such 
extra  number  as  they  judge  can  be  safely  spared.  And  the 
officers  and  men  so  cloathed,  armed  and  equipped,  shall 
march  to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed 
on  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

"The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  never 
engage  in  a  war,  nor  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  in 
time  of  peace,  nor  enter  into  any  treaties  or  alliances,  nor 
coin  money,  nor  regulate  the  value  thereof,  nor  ascertain 
the  sums  and  expenses  necessary  for  the  defence  and  wel 
fare  of  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them,  nor  emit  bills,  nor 
borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States,  nor  ap 
propriate  money,  nor  agree  upon  the  number  of  vessels  of 
war,  to  be  built  or  purchased,  or  the  number  of  land  or  sea 
forces  to  be  raised,  nor  appoint  a  Commander-in-Chicf  of  the 
Army  or  Navy,  unless  nine  States  assent  to  the  same :  nor 
shall  a  question  on  any  other  point,  except  for  adjourning 
from  day  to  day  be  determined,  unless  by  the  votes  of  a 
majority  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

"  The  Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  have  power  to  ad 
journ  to  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  any  place  within 
the  United  States,  so  that  no  period  of  adjournment  be  for 
a  longer  duration  than  the  space  of  six  months,  and  shall 
publish  the  Journal  of  their  proceedings  monthly,  except 
such  parts  thereof  relating  to  treaties,  alliances  or  military 
operations,  as  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy;  and  the 
yeas  and  nays  of  the  delegates  of  each  State  on  any  question 
shall  be  entered  on  the  Journal,  when  it  is  desired  by  any 
delegate ;  and  the  delegates  of  a  State,  or  any  of  them,  at 
his  or  their  request  shall  be  furnished  with  a  transcript  of 
the  said  Journal,  except  such  parts  as  are  above  excepted, 
to  lay  before  the  legislature  of  the  several  States. 

"  ARTICLE  X.  The  Committee  of  the  States,  or  any  nine 
of  them,  shall  be  authorized  to  execute,  in  the  recess  of  Con 
gress,  such  of  the  powers  of  Congress  as  the  United  States 
in  Congress  assembled,  by  the  consent  of  nine  States,  shall 
from  time  to  time  think  expedient  to  vest  them  with ;  pro 
vided  that  no  power  be  delegated  to  the  said  committee,  for 
the  exercise  of  which,  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  the 
voice  of  nine  States  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  as 
sembled  is  requisite. 

"ARTICLE  XI.  Canada  acceding  to  this  Confederation, 
and  joining  in  the  measures  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
admitted  into,  and  entitled  to  all  the  advantages  of  this 
union:  but  no  other  Colony  shall  be  admitted  into  the  same, 
unless  such  admission  be  agreed  to  by  nine  States. 

"AETICLE  XII.  All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  monies  bor 
rowed  and  debts  contracted  by,  or  under  the  authority  of 
Congress,  before  the  assembling  of  the  United  States,  in 
pursuance  of  the  present  Confederation,  shall  be  deemed 


THE  BIRTH  Off  Tim  REPUBLIC. 


361 


and  considered  as  a  charge  against  the  United  States,  for 
payment  and  satisfaction  whereof  the  said  United  States, 
and  the  public  faith  are  hereby  solemnly  pledged. 

"ARTICLE  XIII.  Every  State  shall  abide  by  the  deter 
minations  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  on  all 
questions  which  by  this  Confederation  is  submitted  to  them. 
And  the  articles  of  this  Confederation  shall  be  inviolably 
observed  by  every  State,  and  the  union  shall  be  perpetual ; 
nor  shall  any  alteration  at  any  time  hereafter  be  made  in 
any  of  them ;  unless  such  alteration  be  agreed  to  in  a  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States,  and  be  afterwards  confirmed  by 
the  legislatures  of  every  State. 

"And  Whereas  it  hath  pleased  the  Great  Governor  of  the 
World  to  incline  the  hearts  of  the  legislatures  we  respec 
tively  represent  in  Congress,  to  approve  of,  and  to  authorize 
us  to  ratify  the  said  Articles  of  Confederation  and  perpetual 
union.  Know  Ye  that  we  the  undersigned  delegates,  by 
virtue  of  the  power  and  authority  to  us  given  for  that  pur 
pose,  do  by  these  presents,  in  the  name  and  in  behalf  of  our 
respective  constituents,  fully  and  entirely  ratify  and  confirm 
each  and  every  of  the  said  Articles  of  Confederation  and 
perpetual  union,  and  all  and  singular  the  matters  and  things 
therein  contained :  And  we  do  further  solemnly  plight  and 
engage  the  faith  of  our  respective  constituents,  that  they 
shall  abide  by  the  determinations  of  the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled,  on  all  questions,  which  by  the  said 
Confederation  are  submitted  to  them.  And  that  the  articles 
thereof  shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  the  States  we  respec 
tively  represent,  and  that  the  union  shall  be  perpetual.  In 
witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  in  Con 
gress.  Done  at  Philadelphia  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania 
the  9th  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1778,  and  in 
the  3d  year  of  the  Independence  of  America. 

'On  the  part  and 
John  Wentworth,  jun 
August  8, 1778 


Josiah  Bartlett, 


John  Hancock, 
Samuel  Adams, 
Elbridge  Gerry, 


William  Ellery, 
Henry  Marchant, 

Roger  Sherman, 
Samuel  Huntington, 
Oliver  Wolcott, 

Jas.  Duane, 
Fras.  Lewis, 


Francis  Dana, 
James  Lovell, 
Samuel  Holten 


John  Collins 


Titus  Hosmer, 
Andrew  Adam 

"William  Duer, 
Gouvr.  Morris 


behalf  of  the  state 
of  New  Hamp 
shire. 
On  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 
of  Massachusetts- 
Bay. 

On  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 

-{  of    Rhode  Island 
and     Providence 

(  Plantations. 
On  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 
of  Connecticut. 
On  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 
of  New-York. 


362 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


Jno.  Witherspoon, 


Robt.  Morris, 
Daniel  Roberdeau, 
Jon'a.  Bayard  Smith 
Tho.  M'Kean, 

Feb.  12,  1779, 
John  Dickinson, 

May  5,  1779, 

John  Hanson, 
March  1st,  1781, 

Richard  Henry  Lee, 
John  Banister, 
Thomas  Adams, 


Kathl.  Scudder 


William  Clingan, 
Joseph  Reed, 
22d  July,  1778 

Nicholas  Van  Dyke 


fOn  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 

<  of     New- Jersey, 

I  November    26th, 

L1778. 

On  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 
of  Pennsylvania. 

On  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 
of  Delaware. 


John  Penn, 
July  1st,  1778, 

Henry  Laurens, 


Daniel  Carroll, 
March  1st,  1781, 

Jno.  Harvie, 

Francis  Lightfoot  Lee 

Corns  Harnett, 
Jno.  Williams 


Jno.  Matthews, 

Jno.  Walton, 
24th  July,  1778, 


Edward  Telfair, 
Edw'd  Lang  worthy, 


On  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 
of  Maryland. 
On  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 
of  Virginia. 
On  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 
of   North  Caroli 
na. 

fOn  the  part  and 
I  behalf  of  the  state 
1  of  South  Caroli- 
[na. 

On  the  part  and 
behalf  of  the  state 
of  Georgia. " 

The  reader  of  American  history  will  recall  the  many  and 
often  fruitless  appeals  of  the  Congress,  and  of  Washington 
as  the  head  of  the  army,  upon  the  States,  for  compliance  with 
the  requisitions  which  were  made  upon  them.  Great  losses 
of  opportunity  were  incurred,  and  failures  were  caused,  by 
the  tardiness  or  neglect  of  the  States  to  pay  their  quotas  of 
money;  and  in  many  cases  nothing  but  the  immediate 
danger  of  invasion  by  the  enemy  could  spur  the  laggard 
Assemblies,  and  induce  them  to  impose  and  collect  the 
necessary  taxes. 

The  historical  fact  that  independence  was  achieved  by  the 
force  of  patriotic  fervor,  unsupported  by  authority  in  the 
Federal  government,  is  eminently  honorable  to  the  Amer 
ican  people.  But  it  soon  became  manifest,  when  the  strug 
gle  was  over,  that  the  voluntary  principle  in  the  Federal 
head  was  not  equal  to  the  task  of  paying  the  national  debt, 
providing  pensions  for  the  soldiers,  nor  even  of  holding  the 
States  under  a  common  government,  which  was  acknowl 
edged  to  be  essential  to  the  maintenance  of  independence. 
All  attempts  to  confer  the  taxing  power  upon  the  Congress 
during  the  war  had  failed ;  but  now  it  had  become  a  ques 
tion  of  life  or  death  to  the  Union,  and  the  wise  and  able  men 
North  and  South  united  in  common  efforts  to  form  a  more 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  363 

perfect  union.    Slowly  the  people  came  to  see  and  acquiesce  - 
in  the  necessity. 

Even  before  the  articles  went  into  effect,  March  1,  1781, 
their  inadequacy  to  the  wants  of  the  Union  was  perceived ; 
and  in  February  of  that  year,  a  member  of  the  Congress 
from  New  Jersey  moved  that  the  States  be  called  on  to  con 
fer  upon  that  body  the  power  to  raise  revenue  by  duties  on 
imports.  This  recommendation  was  adopted,  and  the  States 
one  by  one  acquiesced  in  it  except  Rhode  Island.  The  Leg 
islature  of  that  State  refused  to  confer  the  power  for  the 
reasons, — 

First,  "That  the  proposed  duty  would  be  unequal  in  its 
operation,  bearing  hardest  upon  the  most  commercial  States, 
and  so  would  press  peculiarly  hard  upon  that  State,  which 
draws  its  chief  support  from  commerce." 

Second,  "That  the  recommendation  proposes  to  introduce 
into  that  and  the  other  States  officers  unknown  and  unac 
countable  to  them,  and  so  is  against  the  Constitution  of  the 
State." 

Third  objection,  "That  by  granting  to  Congress  a  power 
to  collect  moneys  from  the  commerce  of  these  States  indefi 
nitely  as  to  time  and  quantity,  and  for  the  expenditure  of 
which  they  would  not  be  accountable  to  the  States,  they 
would  become  independent  of  their  constituents  and  sot  he 
proposed  impost  is  repugnant  to  the  liberty  of  the  United 
States." 

These  objections  of  Ehode  Island  to  the  recommendation 
of  Congress  were  forwarded  to  that  body  by  the  speaker 
of  the  Assembly;  whereupon  Messrs.  Alexander  Hamilton 
of  New  York,  James  Madison  of  Virginia,  and  Thomas  Fitz- 
simmons  of  Pennsylvania  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
take  them  into  consideration.  Their  report  is  one  of  the 
most  able  and  lucid  documents  of  the  Revolutionary  period. 
It  was  approved  by  the  Congress. 

Similar  resolutions  or  recommendations  to  the  States  were 
adopted  by  Congress,  urging  that  Congress  be  invested  with 
authority  to  raise  revenue  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  and 
maintaining  the  lost  credit  of  the  Union.  The  resolutions 
were  forwarded  to  the  States,  accompanied  by  an  address 
prepared  by  Messrs.  Madison,  Ellsworth,  and  Hamilton. 
The  reply  to  the  Rhode  Island  Assembly  was  from  the  pen 
of  Mr.  Hamilton.  This  address  to  the  States  was  written  by 
Mr.  Madison.  It  concludes  with  the  following  memorable 
passage : 

"  Let  it  be  remembered,  finally,  that  it  has  ever  been  the 
pride  and  boast  of  America  that  the  rights  for  which  she 
contended  were  the  rights  of  human  nature.  By  the  bless 
ings  of  the  Author  of  these  rights,  on  the  means  exerted  for 
their  defence,  they  have  prevailed  against  all  opposition, 
and  form  the  basis  of  thirteen  independent  States.  No  in- 


364  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

stance  has  therefore  occurred,  nor  can  any  instance  be  ex 
pected  hereafter  to  occur,  in  which  the  unadulterated  forms 
of  republican  government  can  pretend  to  so  fair  an  opportu 
nity  of  justifying  themselves  by  their  fruits.  In  this  view 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States  are  responsible  for  the 
greatest  trust  ever  confided  to  a  political  society.  If  jus 
tice,  good  faith,  honor,  gratitude,  and  all  the  other  qualities 
which  ennoble  the  character  of  a  nation  and  fulfil  the  ends 
of  government  be  the  fruits  of  our  establishments,  the  cause 
of  liberty  will  acquire  a  dignity  and  lustre  which  it  has 
never  yet  enjoyed,  and  an  example  will  be  set  which  cannot 
but  have  the  most  favorable  influence  on  the  rights  of  man 
kind.  If,  on  the  other  side,  our  government  should  be  unfor 
tunately  blotted  with  the  reverse  of  these  cardinal  and  es 
sential  virtues,  the  great  cause  which  we  have1  engaged  to 
vindicate  will  be  dishonored  and.  betrayed,  the  last  and 
fairest  experiment  in  favor  of  the  rights  of  human  nature 
will  be  turned  against  them,  and  their  patrons  and  friends 
exposed  to  be  insulted  and  silenced  by  the  votaries  of  tyr 
anny  and  usurpation." 

Apart  from  the  impossibility  of  raising  the  necessary  rev 
enue  to  support  the  general  government  and  pay  the  inter 
est  of  the  public  debt,  there  was  the  great  embarrassment 
of  commerce  resulting  from  the  conflicting  regulations  of 
the  thirteen  States.  Great  Britain,  although  constrained 
by  the  pressure  of  circumstances,  to  concede  independence, 
took  pleasure  in  crippling  the  trade  of  the  republic. 

It  became  eminently  expedient,  therefore,  for  the  States 
to  concede  to  Congress  the  power  to  regulate  commerce ;  and 
on  the  30th  April,  1784,  the  subject  was  teken  up,  on  the 
report  of  a  committee  consisting  of  Messrs.  Gerry  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  Eeed  of  Pennsylvania,  Williamson  of  North 
Carolina,  Chase  of  Maryland,  and  Jefferson  of  Virginia, 
to  whom  had  been  referred  sundry  letters  and  papers  rela 
tive  to  commercial  matters.  Among  the  complaints,  as 
stated  in  the  report  as  approved  by  the  Congress,  was  the 
statement  that  "  Already  has  Great  Britain  adopted  regu 
lations  destructive  of  our  commerce  with  the  West  India 
Islands. ...  It  would  be  the  duty  of  Congress,  as  it  is  their 
wish,  to  meet  the  attempts  of  Great  Britain  with  similar 
restrictions  on  her  commerce ;  but  their  powers  on  this  head 
are  not  explicit,  and  the  propositions  made  by  the  legisla 
tures  of  the  several  States  render  it  necessary  to  take  the 
general  sense  of  the  Union  on  this  subject.  Unless  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  be  vested  with 
powers  competent  to  the  protection  of  conimerce,  they  can 
never  command  reciprocal  advantages  in  trade;  and  with 
out  these,  our  foreign  commerce  must  decline  and  event 
ually  be  annihilated." 

The  Congress  therefore  resolved, — 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  365 

"That  it  be  and  hereby  is  recommended  to  the  Legisla 
tures  of  the  several  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  to  invest 
Congress  for  the  term  of  fifteen  years  with  power  to  prohibit 
any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  from  being  imported  into 
or  exported  from  any  of  the  States  in  vessels  belonging  to 
or  navigated  by  the  subjects  of  any  power  with  whom  these 
States  shall  not  have  formed  treaties  of  commerce. 

"Resolved,  That  it  be  and  it  hereby  is  recommended  to 
the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States  to  vest  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  for  the  term  of  fifteen  years, 
with  the  power  of  prohibiting  the  subjects  of  any  foreign 
state,  kingdom,  or  empire,  unless  authorized  by  treaty, 
from  importing  into  the  United  States  any  goods,  wares,  or 
merchandise  which  are  not  the  produce  or  manufacture  of 
the  dominions  of  the  sovereign  whose  subjects  they  are. 

"Provided,  That  to  all  acts  of  the  United  States,  in  Con 
gress  assembled,  in  pursuance  of  the  above  powers,  the  as 
sent  of  nine  States  shall  be  necessary. " 

These  propositions  of  the  Congress  to  the  States,  like  those 
asking  for  power  to  impose  duties  on  imports,  were  never 
assented  to. 

July  13,  1785,  The  Congress  took  into  consideration  a 
proposition  of  Mr.  Monroe,  of  Virginia,  to  vest  in  that  body 
the  power  to  regulate  trade ;  but  past  experience  suggested 
the  propriety  of  leaving  it  to  the  State  Legislatures  to  initiate 
proceedings  of  the  kind. 

February  15,  1786,  the  subject  was  again  up  before  the 
Congress,  and  a  committee  to  whom  it  was  referred— con 
sisting  of  Mr.  King  of  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Pinckney,  of 
South  Carolina,  Mr.  Kean  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Monroe  of 
Virginia,  and  Mr.  Pettit  of  Pennsylvania— made  a  report 
setting  forth  the  inefficiency  of  the  confederation ;  in  which 
it  is  said  that, — 

"In  the  course  of  this  inquiry,  it  most  clearly  appeared 
that  the  requisitions  of  Congress  for  eight  years  past  have 
been  so  irregular  in  their  operation,  and  so  evidently  unpro 
ductive,  that  a  reliance  on  them  in  future  as  a  sourse  from 
whence  moneys  are  to  be  drawn  to  discharge  the  engage 
ments  of  the  Confederacy,  definite  as  they  are  in  time  and 
amount,  would  be  not  less  dishonourable  to  the  understand 
ings  of  those  who  entertain  such  confidence  that  it  would 
be  dangerous  to  the  welfare  and  peace  of  the  Union.  The 
committee  are  therefore  seriously  impressed  with  the  indis 
pensable  obligation  that  Congress  are  under,  of  representing 
to  the  immediate  and  impartial  consideration  of  the  several 
States  the  utter  impossibility  of  maintaining  and  preserving 
the  faith  of  the  Federal  Government  by  temporary  requisi 
tions  on  the  States,  and  the  consequent  necessity  of  an  early 
and  complete  accession  of  all  the  States  to  the  revenue  sys 
tem  of  the  18th  of  April,  1783." 


366  THE  BIETU  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

It  was  resolved,  by  Congress,  in  conformity  with  this  re 
port,  that  the  system  of  general  revenue  recommended  on 
the  18th  of  April,  1783,  he  again  presented  to  the  considera 
tion  of  the  State  Legislatures. 

It  was  not  surprising  that  the  States  refused  to  clothe  the 
Congress  of  the  Confederation  with  the  power  of  taxation, 
and  with  other  attributes  of  government,  in  view  of  the 
radical  defects  in  its  organization.  It  was  a  fundamental 
principle  with  the  Confederation  that  each  State  was  the 
ecpal  in  power  and  authority  with  any  other,  without  the 
slightest  regard  to  wealth  or  population.  Each  State,  upon 
every  measure,  was  entitled  to  but  one  vote,  however  many 
Delegates  they  might  send  to  the  Congress.  They  must  send 
at  least  two,  and  might  send  seven;  but  whether  two  or 
seven,  they  could  cast  but  one  vote.  This  arrangement 
placed  Delaware  and  Rhode  Island  on  an  equality  of  power 
with  Virginia  and  Massachusetts,  or  with  Pennsylvania, 
North  Carolina,  and  New  York.  The  principle  was  wrong-; 
and  it  is  well  that  the  power  of  taxation  was  not  conferred 
on  that  condition.  It  is  true  that  nearly  all  the  States  agreed 
to  confer  the  powers  asked  for,  but  upon  various  conditions, 
which  rendered  their  consent  of  no  avail. 

At  length  a  movement  was  made  in  the  Virginia  Legisla 
ture  which  led  to  the  call  of  a  convention  with  larger  pow 
ers  in  the  remodelling  of  the  Federal  system  of  government. 
On  the  21st  of  January,  1786,  the  House  of  Delegates  of  that 
State  came  to  the  following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  Edmund  Randolph,  James  Madison, 
Junior,  Walter  Jones,  Saint  George  Tucker,  Merriwether 
Smith,  David  Ross,  William  Ronald,  and  George  Mason, 
Esquires,  be  appointed  commissioners  who,  or  any  five  of 
whom,  shall  meet  such  commissioners  as  may  be  appointed 
by  the  other  States  in  the  Union,  at  a  time  and  place  to  be 
agreed  on,  to  take  into  consideration  the  trade  of  the  United 
States ;  to  examine  the  relative  situations  and  trade  of  the 
States ;  to  consider  how  far  a  uniform  system  in  their  com 
mercial  regulations  may  be  necessary  to  their  CQmmon  in 
terest  and  their  permanent  harmony ;  and  to  report  to  the 
several  States  such  an  act  relative  to  this  great  object  as, 
when  unanimously  ratified  by  them,  will  enable  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  effectually  to  provide  for  the 
same;  that  the  said  commissioners  shall  immediately  trans 
mit  to  the  several  States  copies  of  the  preceding  resolution, 
with  a  circular  letter  requesting  their  concurrence  therein 
and  proposing  a  time  and  place  for  the  meeting  aforesaid." 

The  Legislatures  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Delaware  promptly  responded  to  this  proposition,  and 
sent  their  delegates  to  meet  those  of  Virginia  at  Annapolis, 
in  Maryland,  September  llth,  of  the  same  year,  1786. 

They  were  in  session  only  three  days.     Commissioners 


TEE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  367 

were  also  appointed  from  the  States  of  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  North  Carolina ;  but  they 
failed  to  reach  Annapolis  in  time.  Those  who  met— consist 
ing  of  Alexander  Hamilton  and  Egbert  Benson,  from  New 
York;  Abram  Clarke,  William  C.  Houston,  and  James 
Schureman,  from  New  Jersey;  Tench  Coxe,  from  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  George  Read,  John  Dickinson,  and  Richard  Bassett, 
from  Delaware;  and  Edmund  Randolph,  James  Madison,  Jr., 
and  St.  George  Tucker,  from  Virginia — agreed  upon  a  report. 
In  this  important  document  they  refrained,  as  they  say, 
from  carrying  out  the  original  purpose  of  the  meeting  by- 
proposing  specific  measures.  They  do  so  because  of  the  fail 
ure  of  the  other  States  to  send  delegates ;  but  they  venture 
to  recommend  another  meeting  of  commissioners  from  all 
the  States,  with  enlarged  powers.  The  New  Jersey  Legisla 
ture  had  authorized  her  commissioners  "to  consider  how 
far  an  uniform  system  in  their  commercial  regulations,  and 
other  important  matters,  might  be  necessary  to  the  common 
interest  and  permanent  harmony  of  the  several  States." 
This  suggestion  from  New  Jersey  is  made  use  of,  by  the  au 
thors  of  the  address,  to  hint  more  pointedly  at  the  importance 
of  another  convention,  with  enlarged  powers,  looking  to  a 
remodelling  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  They  say: 

* '  In  this  persuasion  your  commissioners  submit  an  opinion, 
that  the  idea  of  extending  the  powers  of  their  deputies  to 
other  objects  than  those  of  commerce,  which  has  been 
adopted  by  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  was  an  improvement 
on  the  original  plan,  and  will  deserve  to  be  incorporated  into 
that  of  a  future  convention.  They  are  the  more  naturally 
led  to  this  conclusion,  as,  in  the  course  of  their  reflections  on 
the  subject,  they  have  been  induced  to  think  that  the  power 
of  regulating  trade  is  of  such  comprehensive  extent,  and  will 
enter  so  far  into  the  general  system  of  Federal  government, 
that  to  give  it  efficacy,  and  to  obviate  questions  and  doubts 
concerning  its  precise  nature  and  limits,  may  require  a  cor 
respondent  adjustment  of  other  parts  of  the  Federal  system." 

The  commissioners  suggest  that  the  defects  of  the  existing 
system  of  Federal  government  might  be  found  to  be  greater 
and  more  numerous  than  was  implied  in  the  resolutions  of 
the  State  Legislatures.  They  therefore  propose  u  that  a  con 
vention  of  deputies  from  the  different  States,  for  the  special 
and  sole  purpose  of  entering  into  this  investigation,  and 
digesting  a  plan  for  supplying  such  defects  as  may  be  discov 
ered  to  exist,"  etc.  And  they  propose  that  the  commission 
ers  to  be  thus  appointed  by  the  States  shall  meet  in  Phila 
delphia  on  the  second  Monday  in  May  next. 

This  address  was  sent  to  the  Governors  of  the  several 
States,  and  to  the  Congress.  The  latter  body,  February  21, 
1787,  took  the  address  into  consideration,  and  came  to  the 
following  conclusion : 


368  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

"  Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  Congress,  it  is  expedient 
that,  on  the  second  Monday  in  May  next,  a  convention  of 
delegates,  who  shall  have  been  appointed  by  the  several 
States,  be  held  at  Philadelphia,  for  the  sole  and  express  pur 
pose  of  revising  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  reporting 
to  Congress  and  the  several  Legislatures  such  alterations 
and  provisions  therein  as  shall,  when  agreed  to  in  Congress 
and  confirmed  by  the  States,  render  the  Federal  Constitution 
adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  government  and  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  Union." 

A  majority  of  the  States  had  acquiesced  in  the  proposition, 
and  agreed  to  send  delegates  to  the  proposed  convention,  be 
fore  the  plan  was  approved  by  Congress. 

The  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  adopted  it,  October  16, 
1786,  and  decided  to  send  seven  commissioners.  These  were 
chosen  by  ballot  of  the  two  Houses,  December  4th  of  the 
same  year.  They  were  George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry, 
Edmund  Randolph,  John  Blair,  James  Madison,  George 
Mason,  and  George  Wythe,  Esquires.  Mr.  Henry  declined 
the  appointment,  and  James  McClurg,  Esq.,  was  appointed 
in  his  place  by  the  Governor  and  Council. 

The  Council  and  Assembly  of  New  Jersey,  November  23, 
1786,  appointed  Messrs.  David  Brearley,  William  Churchill 
Houston,  William  Paterson,  and  John  Neilson,  Esqs.,  as 
commissioners  to  the  convention.  On  the  8th  of  May  fol 
lowing,  the  Governor,  William  Livingston,  and  Abram  Clark 
were  added  to  the  delegation,  and  Mr.  Neilson's  name  is 
omitted.  On  the  5th  of  June,  Jonathan  Dayton,  Esq.,  was 
appointed  from  the  same  State. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  December  30,  1786,  appointed  seven  deputies  to  the 
convention,  as  follows:  Thomas  Mifflin,  Robert  Morris, 
George  Clymer,  Jared  Ingersoll,  Thomas  Fitzsimmons, 
James  Wilson,  and  Gouverneur  Morris,  Esqs.  Dr.  Ben 
jamin  Franklin  was  president  of  the  Commonwealth ;  and 
by  a  supplemental  act  of  March  28,  1787,  his  name  was 
added  to  the  list  of  deputies. 

The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina,  January  6, 1787, 
passed  an  act  for  the  appointment  of  five  delegates  to  the 
convention,  and  elected  Richard  Caswell,  the  Governor,  with 
Alexander  Martin,  William  Richardson  Davie,  Richard 
Dobbs  Spaight,  and  Willie  Jones,  Esqs.  Governor  Cas 
well  declined  the  appointment,  and,  by  authority  given  by 
the  act,  he  appointed  William  Blount,  Esq..  to  fill  the  va 
cancy.  On  the  third  day  of  April,  Governor  Caswell  ap 
pointed  Hugh  Williamson,  Esq.,  in  place  of  Willie  Jones, 
declined. 

The  General  Assembly  of  Delaware,  February  3,  1787,  ap 
pointed  George  Read,  Gunm'ng  Bedford,  John  Dickinson, 
Richard  Bassett,  and  Jacob  Broom,  Esqs.,  as  deputies  to  the 
Convention. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC'.  369 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  February 
10,  1787,  appointed  William  Few,  Abraham  Baldwin,  Wil 
liam  Pierce,  George  Walton,  William  Houston,  and  Na 
thaniel  Pendleton,  Esqs.,  as  commissioners  to  the  Conven 
tion. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  New  York,  Feb 
ruary  28,  1787,  resolved  to  send  three  delegates  to  the  Con 
vention  ;  and  on  March  6th,  Messrs.  Eobert  Yates,  John  Lan 
sing,  Jr.,  and  Alexander  Hamilton,  Esqs.,  were  chosen  for 
the  purpose. 

The  Legislature  of  South  Carolina,  March  8,  1787,  ap 
pointed  John  Eutledge,  Charles  Pinckney,  Charles  Cotes- 
worth  Pinckney,  and  Pierce  Butler,  Esqs.,  as  delegates  to 
the  Convention. 

The  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  March  10,  1787, 
appointed  Francis  Dana,  Elbridge  Gerry,  Nathaniel  Gorham, 
Eufus  King,  and  Caleb  Strong,  Esqs.,  as  delegates  to  the 
Convention. 

The  State  of  Connecticut,  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assem 
bly  of  the  second  Thursday  of  May,  1787,  appointed  William 
Samuel  Johnson,  Roger  Sherman,  and  Oliver  Ellsworth, 
Esqs. ,  as  delegates  to  the  Convention. 

The  Legislature  of  Maryland,  May  26,  1787,  appointed 
James  McHenry,  Daniel  of  St.  Thomas  Jenifer,  Daniel  Car 
roll,  John  Francis  Mercer,  and  Luther  Martin,  Esqs.,  as  dele 
gates  to  the  Convention. 

The  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire,  June  27,  1787,  ap 
pointed  John  Langdon,  John  Pickering,  Nicholas  Gilman, 
and  Benjamin  West  to  be  delegates  to  the  Convention. 

In  Convention. 

The  delegates  thus  appointed  by  the  several  States  met  in 
Convention  in  Philadelphia,  Monday,  May  14,  1787.  Thegr 
chose  George  Washington,  one  of  the  delegates  from  Vir 
ginia,  as  President  of  the  body,  and  William  Jackson,  Sec 
retary. 

The  Convention  sat  from  day  to  dajr  until  the  17th  of 
September,  when,  haying  completed  their  labors,  they  sub 
mitted  the  Constitution  as  the  result  thereof  to  the  Con 
gress,  with  the  recommendation  that  it  should,  be  submitted 
to  a  Convention  of  each  State,  to  be  called  by  the  several 
Legislatures,  for  ratification ;  and, — 

u  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Convention,  that,  as  soon  as 
the  Conventions  of  nine  States  shall  have  ratified  this  Con 
stitution,  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  should  fix 
a  day  on  which  electors  should  be  appointed  by  the  States 
which  shall  have  ratified  the  same,  and  a  day  on  which  the 
electors  should  assemble  to  vote  for  President,  and  the  time 
and  place  for  commencing  proceedings  under  the  Constitu 
tion;  that  after  such  publication,  the  electors  should  be  ap- 


^70  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

pointed,  and  the  Senators  and  Representatives  elected;  that 
the  electors  should  meet  on  the  day  fixed  for  the  election  of 
President,  and  should  transmit  their  votes  certified,  signed, 
scaled,  and  directed,  as  the  Constitution  requires,  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled ;  that 
the  Senators  and  Representatives  should  convene  at  the  time 
and  place  assigned;  that  the  Senators  should  appoint  a 
President  of  the  Senate,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  receiving, 
opening,  and  counting  the  votes  for  President ;  and  that,  after 
he  shall  be  chosen,  the  Congress,  together  with  the  Presi 
dent,  should  without  delay  proceed  to  execute  this  Consti 
tution." 

The  Convention,  by  its  president,  General  Washington, 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  president  of  Congress,  in  the  fol 
lowing  words: 

"  In  CONVENTION,      ) 
September  17,  1787.  J 

"Sm:  We  have  now  the  honor  to  submit  to  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  that  Constitution  which  has 
appeared  to  us  most  advisable. 

"The  friends  of  our  country  have  long  seen  and  desired 
that  the  power  of  making  war,  peace,  and  treaties,  that  of 
levying  money  and  regulating  commerce,  and  the  corre 
spondent  executive  and  judicial  authorities  should  be  fully 
and  effectually  vested  in  the  general  government  of  the 
Union;  but  the  impropriety  of  delegating  such  extensive 
trust  to  one  body  of  men  is  evident:  hence  results  the 
necessity  of  a  different  organization. 

"  It  is  obviously  impracticable,  in  the  Federal  Government 
of  these  States,  to  secure  all  rights  of  independent  sov- 
reignity  to  each,  and  yet  provide  for  the  interest  and  safety 
of  all.  Individuals  entering  into  society  must  give  up  a 
share  of  liberty  to  preserve  the  rest.  The  magnitude  of  the 
sacrifice  must  depend  as  well  on  situation  and  circumstances 
as  on  the  object  to  be  obtained.  It  is  at  all  times  difficult  to 
draw  with  precision  the  line  between  those  rights  which  must 
be  surrendered  and  those  which  mav^  be  reserved ;  and  on  the 
present  occasion  this  difficulty  was  increased  by  a  difference 
among  the  several  States  as  to  their  situation,  extent,  habits, 
and  particular  interests. 

"  In  all  our  deliberations  on  this  subject  we  kept  steadily 
in  our  view  that  which  appears  to  us  the  greatest  interest  of 
every  true  American— the  consolidation  of  our  Union— in 
which  is  involved  our  prosperity,  felicity,  safety,  perhaps 
our  national  existence.  This  important  consideration,  seri 
ously  and  deeply  impressed  on  our  minds,  led  each  State  in 
the  Convention  to  be  less  rigid  on  points  of  inferior  magni 
tude  than  might  have  been  otherwise  expected;  and  thus 
the  Constitution  which  we  now  present  is  the  result  of  a 
spirit  of  amity,  and  of  that  mutual  deference  and  concession 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  371 

which  the  peculiarity  of  our  political  situation  rendered  in 
dispensable. 

' '  That  it  will  meet  the  full  and  entire  approbation  of  every 
State  is  not  perhaps  to  be  expected ;  but  each  will  doubtless 
consider  that,  had  her  interest  been  alone  consulted,  the  con 
sequences  might  have  been  particularly  disagreeable  or  in 
jurious  to  others.  That  it  is  liable  to  as  few  exceptions  as 
could  reasonably  have  been  expected,  we  hope  and  believe. 
That  it  may  promote  the  lasting  welfare  of  that  country  so 
dear  to  us  all,  and  secure  her  freedom  and  happiness,  is  our 
most  ardent  wish. 

"With  great  respect,  we  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your 
Excellency's  most  obedient,  humble  servants. 
"  By  unanimous  order  of  the  Convention. 

"  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  President. 
11  His  Excellency,  the  President  of  Congress." 

"On  the  28th  of  September,  1787,  the  Congress  unanimously 
resolved  (all  the  States  being  present  but  Rhode  Island)  to 
transmit  the  Constitution,  with  the  resolutions  and  letter  of 
the  Convention,  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States. 
Whereupon,  conventions  of  the  States  were  chosen  and  con 
vened  ;  and,  after  great  deliberation  and  debate,  the  Consti 
tution  was  ratified  by  them,  in  the  following  order : 
By  Delaware          on  the     7th  December,  1787. 
"    Pennsylvania        "        12th          "          1787. 
"    New  Jersey  "        18th          "          1787. 

"    Georgia  2d  January,     1788. 

"    Connecticut  "         9th        "  1788. 


Massachusetts 
Maryland 
South  Carolina 
New  Hampshire 
Virginia 
New  York 


6th  February,  1788. 

28th  April,  1788. 

23d  May,  1788. 

21st  June,  1788. 

26th  "  1788. 

26th  July,  1788. 


"    North  Carolina     "        21st  November,  1789. 
"    Ehode  Island        "        29th  May,  1790. 

"  The  Congress,  in  compliance  with  the  recommendation  of 
the  Convention,  proceeded,  on  September  13,  1788,  to  direct 
the  organization  of  the  Government,  under  the  Constitution. 
The  order  of  that  body,  to  this  end,  was  as  follows: 

"Resolved,  That  the  first  Wednesday  in  January  next  be 
the  day  for  appointing  electors  in  several  States,  which 
before  said  day  shall  have  ratified  the  said  Constitution; 
that  the  first  Wednesday  in  February  next  be  the  day  for 
the  electors  to  assemble  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
for  a  President;  and  that  the  first  Wednesday  in  March 
next  be  the  time,  and  the  present  seat  of  Congress  (New 
York)  the  place,  for  commencing  the  proceedings  under  the 
said  Constitution," 


372  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Electors  were  chosen  in  the  several  States  which  had  rati 
fied  the  Constitution;  that  is  to  say,  in  all  except  North 
Carolina  and  Ehode  Island.  Members  of  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives,  and  Senators,  were  also  chosen.  The  electors 
met  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  February,  and  cast  their  votes 
for  a  President  and  Vice-president.  The  first  Congress  was 
to  have  met  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  March,  which  was  the 
4th  day  of  the  month,  but  no  quorum  appeared  in  either 
House.  The  few  members  present  in  New  York,  continued 
to  assemble  and  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  until,  on  the  1st 
of  April,  the  necessary  number  met  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  which  body  proceeded  to  elect  a  speaker,  when 
the  choice  fell  upon  Frederick  A.  Muhlenberg,  Esq.,  of  Penn 
sylvania. 

A  quorum  in  the  Senate  appeared  on  the  6th  of  April,  when 
the  body  proceeded  to  elect  a  President  pro  tempore,  in 
order  that  the  votes  for  President  and  Vice-president  might 
be  opened  and  counted.  John  Langdon,  Esq. ,  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  was  chosen.  The  two  Houses  assembled  in  joint  ses 
sion,  when  the  electoral  votes  were  opened  and  counted  on 
the  same  day.  George  Washington  received  every  vote  (69), 
and  was  therefore  declared  to  be  elected  President.  John 
Adams  of  Massachusetts  received  34  votes,  or  a  plurality, 
and  was  therefore  declared  to  be  duly  elected  Vice-president, 
under  the  Constitution  as  originally  framed.  The  second 
article,  which  regulated  the  choice  of  President  and  Vice- 
president,  provided  that  the  person  having  the  highest 
number  of  votes,  "if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  of  electors  appointed,"  shall  be  President; 
but  no  such  requirement  was  made  in  regard  to  the  Vice- 
president  :  and  it  was  sufficient  that,  "  after  the  choice  of  the 
President,  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
of  the  electors  shall  be  Vice-president." 

The  12th  Amendment,  which  was  adopted  in  consequence 
of  the  failure  to  elect  in  1800,  by  the  electors,  provides  that 
separate  votes  by  the  electors  shall  be  cast  for  the  President 
and  for  Vice-president;  and  in  each  case,  a  majority  vote  of 
all  the  electors  is  necessary  to  a  choice.  Otherwise  the  House 
of  Representatives  is  to  elect. 

Mr.  Adams  assumed  his  duties  as  President  of  the  Senate 
on  April  21,  1789.  President  Washington  was  inaugurated 
in  New  York  City,  April  30,  1789,  in  the  gallery,  in  front  of 
the  Senate-chamber.  The  oath  of  office  was  administered 
by  the  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  who  proclaimed, 
"Long  live  George  Washington,  President  of  the  United 
States ! "  The  President  then  returned  to  the  Senate -chamber 
and  delivered  his  inaugural  speech  in  the  presence  of  the  two 
Houses  and  many  citizens. 


THE  BIRTH  Of1  THE  REPUBLIC.  373 

CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OP  AMERICA. 

"We  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a 
more  perfect  Union,  establish  Justice,  insure  domestic  Tran 
quillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  gen 
eral  Welfare,  and  secure  the  Blessings  of  Liberty  to  ourselves 
and  our  Posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  CONSTITUTION 
for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE.  I. 

"SECTION.  1.  All  legislative  Powers  herein  granted  shall 
be  vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall 
consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

"SECTION.  2.  (1)  The  Houses  of  Representatives  shall  be 
composed  of  Members  chosen  every  second  Year  by  the 
People  of  the  several  States,  and  the  Electors  in  each  State 
shall  have  the  Qualifications  requisite  for  Electors  of  the 
most  numerous  Branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

"  (2)  No  Person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not 
have  attrined  to  the  Age  of  twenty  five  Years,  and  been 
seven  Years  a  Citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  Inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which 
he  shall  be  chosen. 

"  (3)  Representatives  and  direct  Taxes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within 
this  Union,  according  to  their  respective  Numbers,  which 
shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  Number  of  free 
Persons,  including  those  bound  to  Service  for  a  Term  of 
Years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.,  three  fifths  of  all 
other  Persons.  The  actual  Enumeration  shall  be  made 
within  three  Years  after  the  first  Meeting  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  Term  of  ten 
Years,  in  such  Manner  as  they  shah1  by  Law  direct.  The 
Number  of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every 
thirty  Thousand ,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  Least  one  Re 
presentative  ;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  chuse  three, 
Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode-Island  and  Providence  Planta 
tions  one,  Connecticut  five,  New -York  six,  New  Jersey  four, 
Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia 
ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia 
three. 

4 '  (4)  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  Representation  from, 
any  State,  the  Executive  Authority  thereof  shall  issue  Writs 
of  Election  to  fill  such  Vacancies. 

"(5)  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  chuse  their 
Speaker  and  other  Officers ;  and  shall  leave  the  sole  Power 
of  Impeachment. 

"SECTION.  3.  (1)  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
composed  of  two  Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the 


874  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

Legislature  thereof,  for  six  Years;  and  each  Senator  shall 
have  one  Vote. 

u  (2)  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  Conse 
quence  of  the  first  Election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally 
as  may  be  into  three  Classes.  The  Seats  of  the  Senators  of 
the  first  Class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  Expiration  of  the  second 
Year,  of  the  second  Class  at  the  Expiration  of  the  fourth 
Year,  and  of  the  third  Class  at  the  Expiration  of  the  sixth 
Year,  so  that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second  Year ; 
and  if  Vacancies  happen  by  Resignation,  or  otherwise,  dur 
ing  the  Recess  of  the  Legislature  of  any  State,  the  Executive 
thereof  may  make  temporary  Appointments  until  the  next 
Meeting  of  the  Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  Vacan 
cies. 

"(3)  No  Person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  at 
tained  to  the  Age  of  thirty  Years,  and  been  nine  Years  a 
Citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when 
elected,  be  an  Inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be 
chosen. 

"(4)  The  Vice-president  of  the  United  States  shall  be  Pres 
ident  of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  Vote,  unless  they  be 
equally  divided. 

"(5)  The  Senate  shall  chuse  their  other  Officers,  and  also  a 
President  pro  tempore,  in  the  Absence  of  the  Vice-president, 
or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  Office  of  President  of  the 
United  States. 

"(6)  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  Power  to  try  all 
Impeachments.  When  sitting  for  that  Purpose,  they  shall 
be  on  Oath  or  Affirmation.  When  the  President  of  the 
United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside  :  And 
no  Person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  Concurrence  of 
two  thirds  of  the  Members  present. 

"(7)  Judgment  in  Cases  of  Impeachment  shall  not  extend 
further  than  to  removal  from  Office,  and  Disqualification  to 
hold  and  enjoy  any  Office  of  honour,  Trust  or  Profit  under 
the  United  States  :  but  the  Party  convicted  shall  neverthe 
less  be  liable  and  subject  to  Indictment,  Trial,  Judgment  and 
Punishment,  according  to,Law. 

"SECTION.  4.  (1)  The  Times,  Places  and  Manner  of  holding 
Elections  for  Senators  and  Representatives,  shall  be  pre 
scribed  in  each  State  by  the  Legislature  thereof  ;  but  the 
Congress  may  at  any  time  by  Law  make  or  alter  such  Reg 
ulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  ch using  Senators. 

"(2)  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every 
Year,  and  such  Meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  De 
cember,  unless  they  shall  by  Law  appoint  a  different  Day. 

"SECTION.  5.  (1)  Each  House  shall  be  the  Judge  of  the 
Elections,  Returns  and  Qualifications  of  its  own  Members, 
and  a  Majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  Quorum  to  do  Busi 
ness  ;  but  a  smaller  Number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day, 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  37ft 

and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  Attendance  of  absent 
Members,  in  such  Manner,  and  under  such  Penalties  as  each 
House  may  provide. 

"(2)  Each  House  may  determine  the  Rules  of  its  Proceed 
ings,  punish  its  Members  for  disorderly  Behaviour,  and, 
with  the  Concurrence  of  two  thirds,  expel  a  Member. 

"(3)  Each  House  shall  keep  a  Journal  of  its  Proceedings, 
and  from  time  to  time  publish  the  same  excepting  such 
Parts  as  may  in  their  Judgment  require  Secrecy,  and  the 
Yeas  and  Nays  of  the  Members  of  either  House  on  any 
question  shall,  at  the  Desire  of  one  fifth  of  those  Present,  be 
entered  on  the  Journal. 

"(4)  Neither  House,  during  the  Session  of  Congress,  shall 
without  the  Consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than 
three  days,  nor  to  any  other  Place  than  that  in  which  the 
two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

* k  SECTION.  6.  (1)  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall 
receive  a  Compensation  for  their  Services,  to  be  ascertained 
by  Law,  and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 
They  shall  in  all  Cases,  except  Treason,  Felony  and  Breach 
of  the  Peace,  be  privileged  from  Arrest  during  their  attend 
ance  at  the  Session  of  their  respective  Houses,  and  in  going 
to  and  returning  from  the  same  ;  and  for  any  Speech  or 
Debate  in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any 
other  Place. 

"(2)  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  Time 
for  which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  Office 
under  the  Authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have 
been  created,  or  the  Emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been 
increased  during  such  time  ;  and  no  Person  holding  any 
Office  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  a  Member  of  either 
House  during  his  Continuance  in  Office. 

"SECTION.  7.  (1)  All  Bills  for  raising  Revenue  shall  origi 
nate  in  the  House  of  Representatives  ;  but  the  Senate  may 
propose  or  concur  with  Amendments  as  on  other  Bills. 

"(2)  Every  Bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a 
Law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  ;  If 
he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with 
his  Objections  to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  origi 
nated,  who  shall  enter  the  Objections  at  large  on  their  Journal, 
and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If  after  such  Reconsideration 
two  thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass  the  Bill,  it  shall 
be  sent,  together  with  the  Objections,  to  the  other  House, 
by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved 
by  two  thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a  Law.  But  in 
all  such  Cases  the  Votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined 
by  yeas  and  Nays,  and  the  Names  of  the  Persons  voting  for 
and  against  the  Bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  Journal  of  each 
House  respectively.  If  any  Bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the 


376  THE  BTRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

President  within  ten  Days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall 
have  been  presented  to  him,  the  Same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like 
Manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their 
Adjournment  prevent  its  Return,  in  which  Case  it  shall  not 
be  a  Law. 

"(3)  Every  Order,  Resolution,  or  Vote  to  which  the  concur 
rence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be 
necessary  (except  on  a  question  of  Adjournment)  shall  be 
presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States ;  and  before 
the  Same  shall  take  Effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being 
disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two  thirds  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the  Rules 
and  Limitations  prescribed  in  the  Case  of  a  Bill. 

"  SECTION.   8.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power 

"(1)  To  lay  and  collect  Taxes,  Duties,  Imposts  and  Excises, 
to  pay  the  Debts  and  provide  for  the  common  Defence  and 
general  Welfare  of  the  United  States;  but  all  Duties,  Im 
posts  and  Excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United 
States; 

1  '(2)  To  borrow  Money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

"(3)  To  regulate  Commerce  with  foreign  Nations,  and 
among  the  several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  Tribes ; 

"(4)  To  establish  an  uniform  Rule  of  Naturalization,  and 
uniform  Laws  on  the  subject  of  Bankruptcies  throughout 
the  United  States ; 

"(5)  To  coin  Money,  regulate  the  Value  thereof,  and  of 
foreign  Coin,  and  fix  the  Standard  of  Weights  and  Measures ; 

"(6)  To  provide  for  the  Punishment  of  Counterfeiting  the 
Securities  and  Current  Coin  of  the  United  States ; 

"(7)  To  establish  Post  Offices  and  post  Roads; 

"(8)  To  promote  the  progress  of  Science  and  Useful  Arts, 
by  securing  for  limited  Times  to  Authors  and  Inventors  the 
exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and  discoveries; 

"(9)  To  constitute  Tribunals  inferior  to  the  supreme  Court ; 

"(10)  To  define  and  punish  Piracies  and  Felonies  commit 
ted  on  the  high  Seas,  and  Offences  against  the  Law  of  Na 
tions  ; 

"(11)  To  declare  War,  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Re 
prisal,  and  make  Rules  concerning  Captures  on  Land  and 
Water; 

4 '  (12)  To  raise  and  support  Armies,  but  no  Appropriation 
of  Money  to  that  Use  shall  be  for  a  longer  Term  than  two 
Years ; 

"(13)  To  provide  and  maintain  a  Navy; 

"(14)  To  make  Rules  for  the  Government  and  Regulation 
of  the  land  and  naval  Forces ; 

"(15)  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  Militia  to  execute 
the  Laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  Insurrections  and  repel  In 
vasions;  ••' 

"(16)  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining 


THE  milTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  377 

the  Militia,  and  for  governing  such  Part  of  them  as  may  he 
employed  in  the  Service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to 
the  States  respectively  the  Appointment  of  the  Officers  and 
the  Authority  of  training  the  Militia  according  to  the  Dis 
cipline  prescribed  by  Congress ; 

"(17)  To  exercise  exclusive  Legislation  in  all  Cases  what 
soever  over  such  District  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as 
may,  by  Cession  of  particular  States,  and  the  Acceptance  of 
Congress,  become  the  Seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  exercise  like  Authority  over  all  Places  pur 
chased  by  the  consent  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  which 
the  Same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  Forts,  Magazines,  Arse 
nals,  Dock-Yards,  and  other  needful  Buildings^— and 

"(18)  To  make  all  Laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and 
proper  for  carrying  into  Execution  the  foregoing  Powers, 
and  all  other  Powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  Department  or 
Officer  thereof." 

' '  SECTION.  9.  (1)  The  Migration  or  Importation  of  such  Per 
sons  as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to 
admit,  shall  not  he  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the 
Year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  Tax  or 
Duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  Importation,  not  exceeding 
ten  dollars  for  each  Person. 

"(2)  The  Privilege  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  shall  not 
be  suspended,  unless  when  in  Cases  of  Rebellion  or  Invasion 
the  public  Safety  may  require  it. 

"(3)  No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  Law  shall  be 
passed. 

"(4)  No  Capitation,  or  other  direct,  Tax  shall  be  laid,  unless 
in  Proportion  to  the  Census  or  Enumeration  herein  before 
directed  to  be  taken. 

"(5)  No  Tax  or  Duty  shall  be  paid  on  Articles  exported 
from  any  State. 

"(6)  No  Preference  shall  be  given  by  any  Regulation  of 
Commerce  or  Revenue  to  the  Ports  of  one  State  over  those 
of  another :  nor  shall  Vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  State, 
be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  Duties  in  another. 

"  (7)  No  Money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury,  but  in 
Consequence  of  Appropriations  made  by  Law ;  and  a  regular 
Statement  and  Account  of  the  Receipts  and  Expenditures  of 
all  public  Money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

"(8)  No  Title  of  Nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United 
States :  And  no  Person  holding  any  Office  of  Profit  or  Trust 
under  them,  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Congress,  ac 
cept  of  any  present,  Emolument,  Office,  or  Title,  of  any  kind 
whatever,  from  any  King,  Prince,  or  Foreign  State. 

"SECTION.  10.  (1)  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  Treaty,  Alli 
ance,  or  Confederation;  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Re 
prisal;  coin  Money;  emit  Bills  of  Credit;  make  any  Thing 


878  TUB  tilltTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

s 

but  gold  and  silver  Coin  a  Tender  in  Payment  of  Debts ;  pass 
any  Bill  of  Attainder,  ex  post  facto  Law,  or  Law  impairing 
the  Obligation  of  Contracts,  or  grant  any  Title  of  Nobility. 

"(2)  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress, 
lay  any  Imposts  or  Duties  on  Imports  or  Exports,  except 
what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection 
Laws :  and  the  net  Produce  of  all  Duties  and  Imposts,  laid 
by  any  State  on  Imports  or  Exports,  shall  be  for  the  Use  of 
the  Treasury  of  the  United  States ;  and  all  such  Laws  shall 
be  subject  to  the  Revision  and  Controul  of  the  Congress. 

"(3)  No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  Congress,  lay 
any  Duty  of  Tonnage,  keep  Troops,  or  Ships  of  War  in  time  of 
Peace,  enter  into  any  Agreement  or  Compact  with  another 
State,  or  with  a  foreign  Power,  or  engage  in  War,  unless 
actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  Danger  as  will  not 
admit  of  Delay. 


"  SECTION  1.  (1)  The  executive  Power  shall  be  vested  in  a 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold 
his  Office  during  the  Term  of  four  Years,  and,  together  with 
the  Vice  President,  chosen  for  the  same  Term,  be  elected,  as 
follows 

'*(2)  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  Manner  as  the  Legis 
lature  thereof  may  direct,  a  Number  of  Electors,  equal  to  the 
whole  Number  of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which 
the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress :  but  no  Senator 
or  Representative,  or  Person  holding  an  office  of  Trust  or 
Profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  Elector. 

[*  The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by- 
Ballot  for  two  Persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an  Inhabi 
tant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a  List 
of  all  the  Persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  Number  of  Votes  for  each; 
which  List  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the 
Seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  Pres 
ence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the 
Certificates,  and  the  Votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  Person 
having  the  greatest  Number  of  Votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such 
Number  be  a  Majority  of  the  whole  Number  of  Electors  appointed  ; 
and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  Majority  and  have  an 
equal  Number  of  Votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
immediately  chuse  by  Ballot  one  of  them  for  President;  and  if  no 
Person  have  a  Majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  List  the 
said  House  shall  in  like  Manner  chuse  the  President.  But  in  chus- 
iug  the  President,  the  Votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  Representa 
tion  from  each  State  having  one  Vote;  A  Quorum  for  this  Purpose 
shall  consist  of  a  Member  or  Members  from  twothirds  of  the  States, 
and  a  Majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  Choice.  In 

*  This  clause  within  brackets  has  been  superseded  and  annulled  by  the 
13th  amendment,  on  page  385. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  879 

every  Case,  after  the  Choice  of  the  President,  the  Person  having  the 
greatest  Number  of  Votes  of  the  Electors  shall  be  the  Vice  President. 
But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  Votes,  the 
Senate  shall  chuse  from  them  by  Ballot  the  Vice  President.] 

"(3)  The  Congress  may  determine  the  Time  of  causing  the 
Electors,  and  the  Day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  Votes ; 
which  Day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

"(4)  No  Person  except  a  natural  born  Citizen,  or  a  Citizen 
of  the  United  States,  at  the  time  of  the  Adoption  of  this 
Constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  Office  of  President; 
neither  shall  any  Person  be  eligible  to  that  Office  who  shall 
not  have  attained  to  the  Age  of  thirty-five  Years,  and  been 
fourteen  Years  a  Eesident  within  the  United  States. 

"(5)  In  Case  of  the  Removal  of  the  President  from  Office,  or 
of  his  Death,  Resignation,  or  Inability  to  discharge  the 
Powers  and  Duties  of  the  said  Office,  the  same  shall  devolve 
on  the  Vice  President,  and  the  Congress  may  by  Law  pro 
vide  for  the  Case  of  Removal,  Death,  Resignation,  or  Ina 
bility,  both  of  the  President  and  Vice  President,  declaring 
what  Officer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and  such  Officer 
shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  Disability  be  removed,  or  a 
President  shall  be  elected. 

"(6)  The  President  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive  for  his 
Services,  a  Compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  encreased 
nor  diminished  during  the  Period  for  which  he  shall  have 
been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  Period  any 
other  Emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

4 '(7)  Before  he  enter  on  the  Execution  of  his  Office,  he 
shall  take  the  following  Oath  or  Affirmation: — 

"  'I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully 
execute  the  Office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will 
to  the  best  of  my  Ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.' 

' '  SECTION.  2.  (1)  The  President  shall  be  Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of 
the  Militia  of  the  several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual 
Service  of  the  United  States ;  he  may  require  the  Opinion,  in 
writing,  of  the  principal  Officer  in  each  of  the  executive  De 
partments,  upon  any  Subject  relating  to  the  Duties  of  their 
respective  Offices,  and  he  shall  have  Power  to  grant  Re 
prieves  and  Pardons  for  Offences  against  the  United  States, 
except  in  Cases  of  Impeachment. 

"(2)  He  shall  have  Power,  by  and  with  the  Advice  and 
Consent  of  the  Senate,  to  make  Treaties,  provided  two  thirds 
of  the  Senators  present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and 
by  and  with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the  Senate,  shall 
appoint  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers  and  Consuls, 
Judges  of  the  supreme  Court,  and  all  other  Officers  of  the 
United  States,  whose  Appointments  are  not  herein  otherwise 
provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  Law ;  but 


S80  THE  mnTii  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


the  Congress  may  by  Law  vest  the  Appointment  of  such 
inferior  Officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President 
alone,  in  the  Courts  of  Law,  or  in  the  Heads  of  Departments. 

"  (3)  The  President  shall  have  Power  to  fill  up  all  Vacancies 
that  may  happen  during  the  Recess  of  the  Senate,  by  grant 
ing  Commissions  which  shall  expire  at  the  End  of  their  next 
Session. 

*  k  SECTION.  3.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Con 
gress  Information  of  the  State  of  the  Union,  and  recommend 
to  their  Consideration  such  Measures  as  he  shall  judge  nec 
essary  and  expedient  ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  Occasions, 
convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in  Case  of  Dis 
agreement  between  them,  with  Respect  to  the  Time  of 
Adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  Time  as  he 
shall  think  proper;  he  shall  receive  Ambassadors  and  other 
public  Ministers  ;  he  shall  take  Care  that  the  Laws  be  faith 
fully  executed,  and  shall  Commission  all  the  officers  of  the 
United  States. 

"SECTION.  4.  The  President,  Vice-President  and  all  civil 
Officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  Office 
on  Impeachment  for,  and  Conviction  of,  Treason,  Bribery, 
or  other  high  Crimes  and  Misdemeanors. 

"ARTICLE  m. 

"SECTION.  1.  The  judicial  Power  of  the  United  States,  shall 
be  vested  in  one  supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  Courts 
as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish. 
The  Judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior  Courts,  shall 
hold  their  Offices  during  good  Behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated 
Times,  receive  for  their  Services,  a  Compensation,  which 
shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  Continuance  in  Office. 

"SECTION.  2.  (1)  The  judicial  Power  shall  extend  to  all 
Cases,  in  Law  and  Equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution, 
the  Laws  of  the  United  States,  and  Treaties  made,  or  which 
shall  be  made,  under  their  Authority  ;—  to  all  Cases  affecting 
Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers,  and  Consuls;  —  to  all 
Cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  Jurisdiction  ;  —  to  Contro 
versies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  Party;—  to 
Controversies  between  two  or  more  States  ;—  between  a  State 
and  Citizens  of  another  State  ;—  between  Citizens  of  different 
States,  —  between  Citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming  Lands 
under  Grants  of  different  States,  and  between  a  State,  or  the 
Citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  States,  Citizens  or  Subjects. 

"(2)  In  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Min 
isters  and  Consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  Party, 
the  supreme  Court  shall  have  original  Jurisdiction.  In  all 
the  other  Cases  before  mentioned,  the  supreme  Court  shall 
have  appellate  Jurisdiction,  both  as  to  Law  and  Fact,  with 
such  Exceptions,  and  under  such  Regulations  as  the  Congress 
shall  make. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.       .          381 

"(3)  The  Trial  of  all  Crimes,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeach 
ment,  shall  be  by  jury ;  and  such  trials  shall  be  held  in  the 
State  where  the  said  Crimes  shall  have  been  committed ;  but 
when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the  Trial  shall  be  at 
such  Place  or  Places  as  the  Congress  may  by  Law  have 
directed. 

"  SECTION.  3.  (1)  Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall 
consist  only  in  levying  War  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to 
their  Enemies,  giving  them  Aid  and  Comfort.  No  Person 
shall  be  convicted  of  Treason  unless  on  the  Testimony  of 
two  Witnesses  to  the  same  overt  Act,  or  on  Confession  in 
open  Court. 

"(2)  The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  declare  the  Punish 
ment  of  Treason,  but  no  Attainder  of  Treason  shall  work 
Corruption  of  Blood,  or  Forfeiture  except  during  the  Life  of 
the  Person  attainted. 


"  SECTION.  1.  Full  Faith  and  Credit  shall  be  given  in  each 
State  to  the  public  Acts,  Records,  and  judicial  Proceedings 
of  every  other  State.  And  the  Congress  may  by  general 
Laws  prescribe  the  Manner  in  which  such  Acts,  Records 
and  Proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  Effect  thereof. 

"SECTION.  2.  (1)  The  Citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  en 
titled  to  all  Privileges  and  Immunities  of  Citizens  in  the 
several  States. 

"(2)  A  Person  charged  in  any  State  with  Treason,  Felony, 
or  other  Crime,  who  shall  flee  from  Justice,  and  be  found  in 
another  State,  shall  on  Demand  of  the  executive  Authority 
of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  re 
moved  to  the  State  having  Jurisdiction  of  the  Crime. 

"(3)  No  Person  held  to  Service  or  Labour  in  one  State, 
under  the  Laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in 
Consequence  of  any  Law  or  Regulation  therein,  be  dis 
charged  from  such  Service  or  Labour,  but  shall  be  delivered 
up  on  Claim  of  the  Party  to  whom  such  Service  or  Labour 
may  be  due. 

"SECTION.  3.  (1)  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the 
Congress  into  this  Union ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed 
or  erected  within  the  Jurisdiction  of  any  other  State;  nor 
any  State  be  formed  by  the  Junction  of  two  or  more  States, 
or  Parts  of  States,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Legislatures 
of  the  States  concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

"(2)  The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  dispose  of  and 
make  all  needful  Rules  and  Regulations  respecting  the  Ter 
ritory  or  other  Property  belonging  to  the  United  States; 
and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to 
Prejudice  any  Claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  partic 
ular  State. 

.  4.  ^he  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every 


382  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

State  in  this  Union  a  Republican  Form  of  Government,  and 
shall  protect  each  of  them  against  Invasion ;  and  on  Applica 
tion  of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  Leg 
islature  cannot  be  convened)  against  domestic  Violence. 

"ARTICLE,  v. 

11  The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  Houses  shall 
deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  Amendments  to  this  Con 
stitution,  or,  on  the  Application  of  the  Legislatures  of  two 
thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  Convention  for  pro 
posing  Amendments,  which,  in  either  Case,  shall  be  valid  to 
all  Intents  and  Purposes,  as  Part  of  this  Constitution,  when 
ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  three  fourths  of  the  several 
States,  or  by  Conventions  in  three  fourths  thereof,  as  the 
one  or  the  other  Mode  of  Ratification  may  be  proposed  by 
the  Congress ;  Provided  that  no  Amendment  which  may  be 
made  prior  to  the  Year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eight  shall  in  any  Manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  Clauses 
in  the  Ninth  Section  of  the  first  Article ;  and  that  no  State, 
without  its  Consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  Suffrage 
in  the  Senate. 


"(1)  All  Debts  contracted  and  Engagements  entered  into, 
before  the  Adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid 
against  the  Uuited  States  under  this  Constitution,  as  under 
the  Confederation. 

"(2)  This  Constitution,  and  the  Laws  of  the  United  States 
which  shall  be  made  in  Pursuance  thereof ;  and  all  Treaties 
made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the 
United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  Law  of  the  Land ;  and 
the  Judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  any 
Thing  in  the  Constitution  or  Laws  of  any  State  to  the  Con 
trary  notwithstanding. 

4 '(3)  The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned, 
and  the  Members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all 
executive  and  judicial  Officers,  both  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  Oath  or  Affirma 
tion,  to  support  this  Constitution;  but  no  religious  Test 
shall  be  ever  required  as  a  Qualification  to  any  Office  or 
public  Trust  under  the  United  States. 

''ARTICLE,  vn. 

"The  Ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States, 
shall  be  sufficient  for  the  Establishment  of  this  Constitution 
between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  Same. 

"DONE  in  Convention  by  the  Unanimous  Consent  of  the 
States  present  the  Seventeenth  Day  of  September  in 
the  Year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
Eighty  seven  and  of  the  Independance  of  the  United 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


383 


States  of  America  the  Twelfth.    IN  WITNESS  whereof 
We  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  Names, 

"GEO  WASHINGTON— 
"  Presidt  and  deputy  from  Virginia 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

John  Langdon,  Nicholas  Gilman. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Nathaniel  Gorham,  Ruf  us  King. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Win.  Saml.  Johnson,  Eoger  Sherman. 

NEW  YORK. 

Alexander  Hamilton. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

David  Brearley, 
Jona.  Dayton. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Thomas  Mifflin, 
Geo:  Clymer, 
Jared  Ingersoll, 


Wil:  Livingston, 
Wm.  Paterson, 


B.  Franklin, 
Robt.  Morris, 
Tho:  Fitzsimons, 
James  Wilson, 


Gouv:  Morris. 

DELAWARE. 

Gunning  Bedford,  Jun'r, 
Richard  Bassett. 


Geo:  Read, 
John  Dickinson, 
Jaco:  Broom, 

James  M'Henry, 
Danl.  Carroll, 

John  Blair, 

Wm.  Blount, 
Hu.  Williamson, 

J.  Rutledge, 
Charles  Pinckney, 

GEORGIA. 

William  Few,  Abr.  Baldwin. 

Attest:  WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary." 

The  Constitution  was  adopted  on  the  17th  September, 
1787,  by  the  convention  appointed  in  pursuance  of  the  reso- 


MARYLAND. 

Dan:  of  St.  Thos.  Jenifer. 

VIRGINIA. 

James  Madison,  Jr. 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Riclvd  Dobbs  Spaight. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney, 
Pierce  Butler. 


384  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

lution  of  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation,  of  the  21st 
February,  1787,  and  was  ratified  by  the  conventions  of  the 
several  States,  in  the  order  stated  on  a  preceding  page. 

Several  of  the  state  conventions  made  it  a  condition  of  rati 
fication,  that  certain  amendments  should  be  added,  in  the 
nature  of  a  Bill  of  Rights.  These  conditional  ratifications 
could  not  be  regarded  as  valid,  and  they  were  only  in  part 
complied  with. 

ARTICLES  IN  ADDITION  TO,  AND  AMENDMENT  OF,  THE  CON 
STITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

Proposed  by  Congress,  and  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  the 
several  States,  pursuant  to  the  fifth  article  of  the  original 
Constitution. 

"  (ARTICLE  I.) 

"  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment 
of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof ;  or  abridg 
ing  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press;  or  the  right  of  the 
people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  Govern 
ment  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

''(ARTICLE  II.) 

"  A  well  regulated  Militia,  being  necessary  to  the  security 
of  a  free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  Arms, 
shall  not  be  infringed. 

"  (ARTICLE  in.) 

"No  Soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any 
house,  without  the  consent  of  the  Owner,  nor  in  time  of  war, 
but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

"  (ARTICLE  iv.) 

"The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches 
and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  warrants  shall 
issue,  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  Oath  or  affirm 
ation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be  searched, 
and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

"(ARTICLE  v.) 

"  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  other 
wise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment 
of  Grand  Jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval 
force,  or  in  the  Milita,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of 
"War  or  public  danger;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  tor 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPULLIG.  385 

the  same  offence  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb ; 
nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any  Criminal  Case  to  be  a  witness 
against  himself;  nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property, 
without  due  process  of  law ;  nor  shall  private  property  be 
taken  for  public  use,  without  just  compensation. 

"  (ARTICLE  VI.) 

' '  In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the 
right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of 
the  State  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been 
committed,  which  district  shall  have  been  previously  as 
certained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and 
cause  of  the  accusation ;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses 
against  him;  to  have  Compulsory  process  for  obtaining 
Witnesses  in  his  favour,  and  to  have  the  Assistance  of 
Counsel  for  his  defence. 

"  (ARTICLE  VII.) 

"  In  Suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy 
shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall 
be  preserved,  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise 
re-examined  in  any  Court  of  the  United  States,  than  accord 
ing  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

"  (ARTICLE  vm.) 

"Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines 
imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

"  (ARTICLE  IX.) 

"  The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights, 
shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained 
by  the  people. 

"(ARTICLE  x.) 

"The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the 
Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved 
to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

"(ARTICLE  XI.) 

"The  Judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be 
construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced 
or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United  States  by  Citizens  of 
another  State,  or  by  Citizens  or  Subjects  of  any  Foreign 
State. 

"(ARTICLE  XII.) 

1 '  The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and 
vote  by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice  President,  one  of 
whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state 
with  themselves;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person 


386  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person 
voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct 
lists  of  all  pers9ns  voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons 
voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for 
each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit 
sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate;— The  President  of 
the  Senate  shall,  in  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates  and  the  votes  shall 
then  be  counted;— The  person  having  the  greatest  number 
of  votes  for  President,  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  num 
ber  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed ; 
and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then  from  the  persons 
having  the  highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list 
of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in 
choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states, 
the  representation  from  each  state  having  one  vote ;  a  quo 
rum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members 
from  two-thirds  of  the  states,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  states 
shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  ,the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  shall  not  choose  a  President  whenever  the  right 
of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of 
March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as 
President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional 
disability  of  the  President.  The  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  as  Vice-President,  shall  be  the  Vice-Presi 
dent,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
Electors  appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then 
from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall 
choose  the  Vice-President ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall 
consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and  a 
majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  i:he  office  of 
President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States. 

The  Inaugural  Speech  of  Washington 

is  as  follows : 

"FELLOW-CITIZENS  OF  THE  SENATE  AND  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF 
REPRESENTATIVES:  Among  the  vicissitudes  incident  to  life, 
no  event  could  have  filled  me  with  greater  anxiety  than  that 
of  which  the  notification  was  transmitted  by  your  order, 
and  received  on  the  14th  day  of  the  present  month.  On  the 
one  hand,  I  was  summoned  by  my  country — whose  voice  I 
can  never  hear  but  with  veneration  and  love — from  a  retreat 
which  I  had  chosen  with  the  fondest  predilection,  and,  in  my 
flattering  hopes,  with  an  immutable  decision,  as  the  asylum 
of  my  declining  years ;  a  retreat  which  was  rendered  every 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  387 

day  more  necessary,  as  well  as  more  dear,  to  me,  by  the  ad 
dition  of  habit  to  inclination,  and  of  frequent  interruptions 
in  my  health,  to  the  gradual  waste  committed  on  it  by  time. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  magnitude  and  difficulty  of  the  trust 
to  which  the  voice  of  my  country  called  me,  being  sufficient 
to  awaken  in  the  wisest  and  most  experienced  of  her  citizens 
a  distrustful  scrutiny  into  his  qualifications,  could  not  but 
overwhelm  with  despondence  one  who,  inheriting  inferior 
endowments  from  nature,  and  unpractised  in  the  duties  of 
civil  administration,  ought  to  be  peculiarly  conscious  of  his 
own  deficiencies.  In  this  conflict  of  emotions,  all  I  dare 
aver  is  that  it  has  been  my  faithful  study  to  collect  my 
duty  from  a  just  appreciation  of  every  circumstance  by 
which  it  mi^ht  be  affected.  All  I  dare  hope  is  that,  if,  in 
executing  this  task,  I  have  been  too  much  swayed  by  a 
grateful  remembrance  of  former  instances,  or  by  an  affec 
tionate  sensibility  to  this  transcendent  proof  of  the  con 
fidence  of  my  fellow-citizens,  and  have  thence  too  little 
consulted  my  incapacity  as  well  as  disinclination  for  the 
weighty  and  untried  cares  before  me,  my  error  will  be  pal 
liated  by  the  motives  which  misled  me,  and  its  consequences 
be  judged  by  my  country  with  some  share  of  the  partiality 
in  which  they  originated. 

"  Such  being  the  impressions  under  which  I  have,  in  obe 
dience  to  the  public  summons,  repaired  to  the  present 
station,  it  would  be  peculiarly  improper  to  omit,  in  this  first 
official  act,  my  fervent  supplications  to  that  Almighty  Being 
who  rules  over  the  universe,  who  presides  in  the  councils  of 
nations,  and  whose  providential  aids  can  supply  every 
human  defect,  that  his  benediction  may  consecrate,  to  the 
liberties  and  happiness  of  the  people  of  United  States,  a  gov 
ernment  instituted  by  themselves  for  these  essential  pur 
poses,  and  may  enable  every  instrument  employed  in  its 
administration  to  execute  with  success  the  functions  allotted 
to  his  charge.  In  tendering  this  homage  to  the  great  Author 
of  every  public  and  private  good,  I  assure  myself  that  it 
expresses  your  sentiments  not  less  than  my  own ;  nor  those 
of  my  fellow-citizens  at  large,  less  than  either.  No  people 
can  be  bound  to  acknowledge  and  adore  the  invisible  hand 
which  conducts  the  affairs  of  men,  more  than  the  people  of 
the  United  States.  Every  step  by  which  they  have  ad 
vanced  to  the  character  of  an  independent  nation  seems  to 
have  been  distinguished  by  some  token  of  providential 
agency ;  and  in  the  important  revolution  just  accomplished 
in  the  system  of  their  united  government,  the  tranquil  de 
liberations  and  voluntary  consent  of  so  many  distinct  com 
munities,  from  which  the  event  has  resulted,  cannot  be- 
compared  with  the  means  by  which  most  governments  have 
been  established  without  some  return  of  pious  gratitude 
along  with  an  humble  anticipation  of  the  future  blessings 


388  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 

which  the  past  seem  to  presage.  These  reflections,  arising 
out  of  the  present  crisis,  have  forced  themselves  too  strongly 
on  my  mind  to  be  suppressed.  You  will  join  with  me,  I 
trust,  in  thinking  that  there  are  none  under  the  influence 
of  which  the  proceedings  of  a  new  and  free  government  can 
more  auspiciously  commence. 

' '  By  the  article  establishing  the  executive  department,  it 
is  made  the  duty  of  the  President  '  to  recommend  to  your 
consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and 
expedient,'  The  circumstances  under  which  I  now  meet 
you  will  acquit  me  from  entering  into  that  subject  further 
than  to  refer  to  the  great  constitutional  charter  under  which 
you  are  assembled,  and  which,  in  defining  your  powers, 
designates  the  objects  to  which  your  attention  is  to  be  given. 
It  will  be  more  consistent  with  those  circumstances,  and  far 
more  congenial  with  the  feelings  which  actuate  me,  to  sub 
stitute,  in  place  of  a  recommendation  of  particular  measures, 
the  tribute  that  is  due  to  the  talents,  the  rectitude,  and  the 
patriotism  which  adorn  the  characters  selected  to  devise  and 
adopt  them.  In  these  honorable  qualifications,  I  behold  the 
surest  pledges  that,  as  on  one  side,  no  local  prejudices  or  at 
tachments,  no  separate  views,  nor  party  animosities,  will  mis 
direct  the  comprehensive  and  equal  eye  which  ought  to  watch 
over  this  great  assemblage  of  communities  and  interests ;  so, 
on  another,  that  the  foundations  of  our  national  policy  will  be 
laid  in  the  pure  and  immutable  principles  or  private  moral 
ity,  and  the  pre-eminence  of  free  government  be  exemplified 
by  all  the  attributes  which  can  win  the  affections  of  its  citi 
zens  and  command  the  respect  of  the  world.  I  dwell  on 
this  prospect  with  every  satisfaction  which  an  ardent  love 
for  my  country  can  inspire :  since  there  is  no  truth  more 
thoroughly  established,  than  that  there  exists  in  the  econ 
omy  and  course  of  nature  an  indissoluble  union  between 
virtue  and  happiness,  between  duty  and  advantage,  be 
tween  the  genuine  maxims  of  an  honest  and  magnanimous 
policy  and  the  solid  rewards  of  public  prosperity  and  felic 
ity  ;  since  we  ought  to  be  no  less  pursuaded  that  the  pro 
pitious  smiles  of  heaven  can  never  be  expected  on  a  nation 
that  disregards  the  eternal  rules  of  order  and  right,  which 
heaven  itself  has  ordained ;  and  since  the  preservation  of  the 
gacred  fire  of  liberty  and  the  destiny  of  the  republican 
model  of  government  are  justly  considered  as  deeply,  per 
haps  as  finally,  staked,  on  the  experiment  entrusted  to  the 
hands  of  the  American  people. 

"Besides  the  ordinary  objects  submitted  to  your  care,  it 
will  remain  with  your  judgment  to  decide  how  far  an  exer 
cise  of  the  occasional  power  delegated  by  the  fifth  article  of 
the  Constitution  is  rendered  expedient  at  the  present  junc 
ture,  by  the  nature  of  objections  which  have  been  urged 
against  the  system  or  by  the  degree  of  inquietude  which 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  389 

has  given  birth  to  them.  Instead  of  undertaking  particular 
recommendations  on  this  subject,  in  which  I  could  be 
guided  by  no  lights  derived  from  official  opportunities,  I 
shall  again  give  way  to  my  entire  confidence  in  your  dis 
cernment  and  pursuit  of  the  public  good ;  for,  I  assure  my 
self,  that,  whilst  you  carefully  avoid  every  alteration  which 
might  endanger  the  benefits  of  an  united  and  effective  gov 
ernment,  or  which  ought  to  await  the  future  lessons  of  ex 
perience,  a  reverence  for  the  characteristic  rights  of  free 
men,  and  a  regard  for  the  public  harmony,  will  sufficiently 
influence  your  deliberations  on  the  question  how  far  the 
former  can  be  more  impregnably  fortified,  or  the  latter  be 
safely  and  advantageously  promoted. 

"  To  the  preceding  observations  I  have  one  to  add,  which 
will  be  most  properly  addressed  to  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  It  concerns  myself,  and  will  therefore  be  as  brief  as 
possible.  When  I  was  first  honored  with  a  call  into  the  ser 
vice  of  my  country,  then  on  the  eve  of  an  arduous  struggle 
for  its  liberties,  the  light  in  which  I  contemplated  my  duty 
required  that  I  should  renounce  every  pecuniary  compensa 
tion.  Erom  this  resolution  I  have  in  no  instance  departed ; 
and  being  still  under  the  impressions  which  produced  it,  I 
must  decline,  as  inapplicable  to  myself,  any  share  in  the 
personal  emoluments  which  may  be  indispensably  included 
in  a  permanent  provision  for  the  executive  depart 
ment,  and  must  accordingly  pray  that  the  pecuniary  esti 
mates  for  the  station  in  which  I  am  placed  may,  during"  my 
continuance  in  it,  be  limited  to  such  actual  expenditures  as 
the  public  good  may  be  thought  to  require. 

"Having  thus  imparted  to  you  my  sentiments,  as  they 
have  been  awakened  by  the  occasion  which  brings  us  to 
gether,  I  shall  take  my  present  leave;  but  not  without 
resorting  once  more  to  the  benign  Parent  of  the  human  race 
in  humble  supplication,  that,  since  he  has  been  pleased  to 
favor  the  American  people  with  opportunities  for  deliberat 
ing  in  perfect  tranquillity,  and  dispositions  for  deciding, 
with  unparalleled  unanimity,  on  a  form  of  government  for 
the  security  of  their  Union  and  the  advancement  of  their 
happiness,  so  his  divine  blessing  may  be  equally  conspicuous 
in  the  enlarged  views,  the  temperate  consultations,  and  the 
wise  measures  on  which  the  success  of  this  government 
must  depend." 


THE  END. 


INDEX. 


CONNECTICUT. 

Act  of  Parliament  burnt, 
145. 

Adam,  Andrew,  361. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  157. 

Babcock,  Mr.  Adam,  157. 

Beebe,  Dr.,  151. 

Benedict,  Mr.  Zadock,  156. 

Bishop,  Mr.  Samuel,  157. 

Comstock,  Mr.  Andrew,156. 

Connecticut,  25,  144,  354, 
861,  369,  3S3. 

Connecticut  Assembly,  149. 

Connecticut  Resolutions 
146. 

Connecticut  instructs  her 
Delegates  to  vote  for  In 
dependence,  158. 

Danbury  Town  Meeting 
Proceedings,  154. 

Deane,  Silas,  Esq.,  84,  157. 

Delegate  Meeting  at  Hart 
ford,  151. 

Durkee,  Mr.,  26,  27,  28. 

Dyer,  Eliphalet,  Esq..  84. 

Ellsworth,  Esq.,  Oliver, 
363,  369. 

Fairfield  Committee  Pro 
ceedings,  156. 

Fitch,   Gov.   of   Conn.,  25, 

26,  30. 

Gazette,  The,  145. 

Glastenbury  Public    Meet 
ing,  144,  149. 

Hait,  Capt.  David,  154. 
Hollister,  historian,  25,  28, 

144,  156,  158. 

Hollister,  statement  by,  158. 
Hollister,  Capt.  Elisha,  145. 
Hosmer,  Titus,  361. 
Humphreys,  General,  28. 
Huntiugton,  Sam'l,  95,  361. 
Hutton,  Mr.  Samuel,  154. 
Ingersoll,      Jared,      Esq., 

Stamp- distributor,  25,  26, 

27,  28,  30,  46. 
Jarvis,  S.,  154. 
Johnson,  William  Samuel, 

Esq.,  8,  369,  383. 
Lebanon,  25. 
Lloyd,  Mr.  John,  154. 
Lyman,  David,  Esq.,  J.  P., 

30. 

McLean,  Mr.  John,  156. 
Munford,  Mr.  Thomas,  157. 
New  Haven,  26. 
New  London,  25. 


Non  -  importation  agree 
ment,  144. 

Norwich,  25. 

Norwich  Resolutions,  149. 

Parsons,  Samuel  Holden, 
Esq.,  157. 

People,  27. 

Porter,  Mr.  Joshua,  157. 

Putnam,  Col.  Israel,  30. 

Root,  Jesse,  157. 

Sherman,  Roger,  Esq.,  84, 
95,  361,  369,  3S3. 

Silliman,  Mr.  Ebenezer,  156. 

Stamford  Town  Meeting 
Resolutions,  153. 

Stamp  Act  in  Connecticut, 
25. 

Stevens,  Capt.  Thomas,  154. 

Starr,  Capt.  Daniel,  156. 

Taylor,  Mr.  Major,  156. 

Trumbull,  Col.  Jonathan, 
25,  158. 

Weed,  Capt.  Chas.,  154. 

Wells,  Mr.  Chas.,  157. 

Wethersfield,  26. 

Windham,  25. 

Windham  Town  proceed 
ings,  150. 

Williams,  Ezekiel,  157, 

Williams,  William,  Esq., 
157. 

Wolcott,  Oliver,  95,  361. 

Wyllis,  Capt.  Samuel,   153, 

Young,  Capt.  Samuel,  154. 

DELAWARE. 

Bassett,  Richard,  236,  367, 
368,  383. 

Bedford,  Gunning,  Jr.,  368, 
383. 

Booth,  Mr.  James,  243. 

Broom,  Jacob,  368,  383. 

Clark,  Jno.,  Esq.,  236,  240, 
242. 

Clewes,  Mr.,  242. 

Collins,  Mr.  Thos,  234,  236. 

Continental  Association  ap 
proved,  240. 

Crapper,  Zadock,  236. 

Cropper,  Mr.  Levin.  234. 

Delaware,  46,  234,  354,  362, 
367,  368,  383. 

Delaware  Convention,  234, 
237. 

Delaware  Convention  Re 
solves,  234,  239. 


Delaware  Assembly  Reso 
lutions,  241,  243. 

Dickinson,  John,  Esq.,  362, 
367,  368,  383. 

Evans,  John,  Esq.,  234,  366. 

Haslet,  John,  236. 

Kent  Co.  Resolutions,  235. 

Killen,  Mr.  Wm.,  234,  236. 

Latimer,  Mr.  James,  New 
Castle,  234. 

Lockwood,  Richard,  Esq., 
236. 

Manlove,  Mr.  Boaz,  284. 

McKean,  Thomas,  Esq.,  84, 
95,  234,  240,  243,  362. 

McKinley,  Mr.  John,  New 
Castle,  234,  240. 

New  Castle  Co.  Committee, 
240. 

Porter,  Mr.  Alex.,  New  Cas 
tle,  234. 

Read,  George,  Esq.,  84,  95, 
234,  240,  241,  242,  367,  368, 
383. 

Ridgeley,  Chas.,  Esq.,  236, 

Robinson,  Mr.  Thomas,  234. 

Rodney,  Caesar,  Esq.,  84, 
95,  234,  236,  239,  240,  241. 

Rodney,  Thomas,  236. 

Stamp  Act,  46. 

Stout,  Jacob,  236. 

Sussex  Co.  Resolutions, 
236. 

Sykes,  James,  236. 

Thompson,  Mr.  David,  Sus 
sex  Co.,  234,  240. 

Townsend,  Mr.  Stephen, 
Sussex  Co.,  234. 

Van  Dyke,  Nicholas,  362. 

Wells,  James,  236. 

Wiltbank,  Mr.  John,  Sussex 
Co.,  234. 

GEORGIA. 

Address  to  the  People,  338. 

Angus,  Mr.,  Stamp-distrib 
utor,  66. 

Baldwin,  Abraham,  369, 
383. 

Bierry,  Thomas,  342. 

Bryan,  Jonathan,  Esq..  338. 

Bullock,  Archibald,  Esq., 
339,  345,  352. 

Clark,  James,  342. 

Clay,  Joseph,  340. 

Cockspur,  67. 


390 


INDEX. 


Cooper,  Richard,  342. 
Creighton,  Alexander,  338. 
Cuthbert,  Isaac,  342. 
Cuthbert,  Daniel  A..  342. 
Cuyler,  Mrs..  347. 
Darien  Resolutions,  340. 
Darien  Association,  341. 
Demere,  Raymond,  342. 
E\ven,  William,  340. 
Farley,  Samuel,  340. 
Few,  Wm,  Esq.,  369.  383. 
Fort     George,     Cockspur 

Island,  67. 
Fulton,  John,  342. 
Fulton,  Samuel,  342. 
Georgia,  66,  337,  354,  362, 

339,  383. 

Gazette,  Savannah,  3°>8. 

Georgia  Assembly  Address 
to  the  King,  338. 

Georgia  Association,  345. 

Georgia  Assembly,  Resolu 
tions  by,  337,  342,  345. 

Georgia  Assembly,  Associ 
ation  of  Non-importation 
by,  345. 

Georgia  Council  of  Safety, 
Resolutions  by,  351 . 

Georgia  Council  of  Safety, 
Address  of,  351. 

Georgia  Temporary  Con 
stitution.  350. 

General  Meeting,  Georgia 
Resolutions,  339. 

Gwinnett,  Button,  96. 

Hall,  Isaac.  342. 

Hall,  John,  342. 

Hall,  Lyman,  Esq.,  96. 

Houston,  John,  Esq.,  339, 

340,  345. 

Jones,  Noble  Wimberly, 
Esq.,  338,  339.  340,  345. 

Judton,  Paul,  342. 

King,  Thomas,  342. 

Langworthy,  Edward,  362. 

Liberty  Boys,  66. 

McCleland,  Samuel,  342. 

McCleland,  John,  342. 

McCullugh,  Beth.  342. 

McCullugh,  William,  342. 

McCullugh,  John,  Sr.,  342. 

McOiUugh,  John,  Jr.,  342. 

McDonald,  Charles,  342. 

Mclntosh,  John,  342. 

Mclntosh,  L.,  342. 

Merchants  and  Traders 
Meeting,  Resolutions  by, 
333. 

Milledge,  Capt.,  66. 

Moore,  Jiles,  3-12. 

Newsom,  Jones,  342. 

Pannell,  Lieut.,  353. 

Pendleton,  Nathaniel,  Esq., 
309. 

Pierce,  William,  Esq.,  369. 

Powell,  Capt ,  66. 

Provincial  Congress  Reso 
lutions,  347,  348. 

Roberts,  Daniel,  Esq.,  352. 

Roland,  John,  Esq.,  342. 

Sallens,  Peter,  Esq.,  342. 


Savannah,     Ga.,    Meeting 

and  Resolves.  346. 
Shuttleworth,  Pr.,  342. 
Shuttleworth,  Reu.,  342. 
Stamp  Act,  66. 
Stephen's  History  of  Ga., 

66. 

Stobe,  Joseph,  Esq.,  342. 
Telfair.  Edward,  340,  362. 
Threadcraft,  Gaorge,  342. 
Tybee  Island,  66. 
Walton,  George,  Esq.,  96, 

339,  353,  369. 
Walton,  Lieut..  353. 
Walton,  John,  362. 
Wells,  Andrew  Elton,;340. 
Wereat,  John,  853. 
Witherspoon,  John,  342. 
Witherspoon,    John,     Jr., 

342. 
Wright,  Sir  James,  Royal 

Governor,  66,  311. 
Wylly,  Mr.,  Speaker  House 

of  Commons,  66,  337. 
Young,  William,  Esq.,  340. 

MARYLAND. 

Alexander,  Robt.,  Esq., 
256,  257. 

Annapolis,  119,  247,  252. 

Anne  Arundell  Co.  Reso 
lutions,  249. 

Baltimore  Co.  Resolutions, 
52,  248. 

Baltimore,  Lord,  52. 

Carroll,  Charles,  of  Carroll- 
ton,  95,  247. 

Carroll,  Daniel,  Esq.,  362, 
369,  383. 

Caroline  Co.  Resolutions, 
251. 

Charles  Co.  Resolutions, 
251. 

Chase,  Samuel,  Esq.,  84, 
95,  247,  256,  364. 

Chestertown  Resolutions, 
244. 

Dick,  Mr.,  merchant,  An 
napolis,  244. 

Dickinson,  Charles,  251. 

Duckett.  Mr.  John,  252. 

Frederick  Co.  Resolutions, 
250. 

Gazette,  Md.,  49,  50. 

Geddes,  (brigantine),  246. 

General  Assembly,  50. 

General  Assembly  Resolu 
tions  by,  50. 

Goldsborough,  Robert, 
Esq.,  256. 

Green,  Mr.  Jonas,  Editor 
of  Gazette,  4!>. 

Griffith,  Mr.  Henry,  Fred 
erick  Co.,  250. 

Hall,  Aquilla,  Esq.,  Har- 
ford  Co.,  250. 

Hall,  John,  Esq.,  Annapo 
lis,  247,  253. 

Hammond,  Matthias,  Esq., 
Annapolis,  247. 

Hanson,  John,  Esq.,  362. 


Harford  Co.    Resolutions, 

250. 
Hood,  Zachariah,  Esq.,  49, 

H— d,  Z h.  Esq.,  50. 

Instructions    to  Delegates 

in  Congress,  256. 
Jenifer,  Daniel  of  St.  Tho 
mas,  Esq.,  369,  383. 
Johnson,  Herman,  87. 
Johnson,  Thomas,  Jr.,Esq., 

76,  84,  247,  256. 
Kent  Co.  Resolutions,  249. 
McCubbin,  Mr.,  merchant, 

Annapolis,  244. 
McHenry,     James,     Esq., 

369,  383. 
McMahon,    historian,    46, 

243,  244. 
McMahon,    statement   by, 

in  regard  to  Stamp  Act, 

46. 

Martin,  Luther,  Esq..  369. 
Maryland,  46,  243,  354,  362, 

366,  369,  383. 

Maryland  Convention  Res 
olutions,  252,  258. 
Mercer.  John  Francis,  Esq., 

369. 
Paca,  William,  Esq.,  84,95, 

247,  256. 

Queen   Anne  Co.    Resolu 
tions,  248. 
Ridgeley,    Capt,    Charles, 

Baltimore  Co.,  248. 
Rogers,  John,  Esq.,  256. 
Stamp  Act,  46. 
Stewart,    Mr.,    merchant, 

Annapolis,  244. 
Stewart,  Mr.W.,  merchant, 

Annapolis,  244. 
Stone,  Thos.  Esq.,  95,  256. 
Talbot  Co.  Meeting,  246. 
Tilghman,  Matthew,  Esq., 

84,  252,  266. 
Wallace,    Mr.,    merchant, 

Annapolis,  244. 
Worthington,     Mr.     Brice 

Beale,    Anne     Aruudell 

Co.,  249. 
Wright,  W.,  Esq.,  846. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 
Act    for   sending    beyond 

sea  for  trial,  112,  117. 
Adams,  John,  Esq.,  76,  84, 

91,  95,  110,  243,  372. 
Adams,  Samuel,    Esq,,  84, 

95,110,129,361. 
Address  to  the  People  by 

the  Provincial  Congress, 

128. 
Assembly  protests  against 

the  Acts  of  Parliament, 

103. 

Barry,  historian,  16. 
Bernard,  Gov.,  291. 
Boston  Tea  Party,  104. 
Boston  Port  Bill,  106,  352, 
Bowdoiu,  James,  Esq.,  110. 
Brovn,  Wm.,  Judge,   120. 


INDEX.  393 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  290.         Ruggles.  Mr.,  10.  Monmouth     Co.     Resolu- 
Charterof  Mass.,  abolition  Salem,  Mass.,  124.  tions,  225, 

of,  112,  113.  Stamp  Act  in  Mass.,  16, 17.  Morris  Co.  Resolutions,  222. 

Clark,    Mr.,    consignee  of  Story,    Mr.,   deputy  regis-  Mulford,  historian,  218. 

tea,  Boston,  104.  ter,  18.  Neilson,  John,  Esq.,  368. 

Committee  of  Safety,  129.     Strong,  Caleb,  Esq.,  369.  Newark,  Committee  Reso- 
Cumberland  Co.,  122.              Suffolk  Co  ,  74, 121.  lutions,  229,  231. 

dishing,     Thomas,     Esq.,  Suffolk    Co.    Resolutions.  New  Jersey,   10,    218,  354, 

84,  110,  208.  74.  362,  366,  367,  368,  383. 

Dana,    Frauds,  Esq.,  361,  Temporary      government  New  Jersey  Assembly  Res- 

369.  established,  130.  olutions,  230, 367. 

Extracts    from    the   Port  Vose,  Mr.,  121.  New  Jersey  Committee  to 

Bill,  107.  Warren,  Dr.  Joseph,  128.          Boston  Committee,  227. 

Falmouth,  Casco  Bay,  122.  Watertown,  Mass.,  130.  Ogden,  David,  Esq.,  10,  39. 

Faneuil  Hall,  18,  100.  Woodward,  Richard,  121.  Ogden,       Robert,       Esq., 

Faneuil   Hall,   Convention  York  Co.,  124.  Speaker  of  Assembly,  10, 

Freeman,  Sam'l'  Esq.,  131.  NEW  JERSEY.  Patterson,  William,  Esq., 

Gerry,   Elbridge,  Esq.,  95,  Bergen    Co.    Resolutions,      368, 383. 

129,  361,  364,  369.  221.  Potter,  Capt.  Reuben,  231. 

Gorham,   Nathaniel,  Esq.,  Bloomfield,    Moses,    Esq.,  Schureman,  James,   Esq., 

369,  383.  232.  367. 

Hall,  captain  of   tea  ves-  Burlington  Committee,  231.  Scudder,  Nathaniel,  362. 

sel  at  Boston,  105.  Brearley,  David,  Esq.,  368,  Smith,  William  P.,  227. 

Hallowell,  Mr.,  18.  383.  Smith,  Richard,  84, 230. 

Hancock,  John,   Esq.,  95,  Camp,Caleb.,Esq.,  230, 231.  Smyth,    Frederick,    Chief 

99,  124,  129,  208,  361.  Clark,  Abram,  Esq.,  96, 233,      Justice,  38. 

Hancock,  Ebenezer,  Esq.,      367,368.  Somerset   Co.    Committee 

119.  Committees  of  the  several      Resolutions,  233. 

Holton,  Samuel,  Esq.,  361.        Counties'      Resolutions,  Stamp  Act,  37. 

Hutchinsou,  Thomas,  Esq.,      226.  Stockton,    Richard,    Esq., 

103.  104.  Coxe,  William,  Stamp-dis-      96,  233. 

Hutchinson,   Elisha,  Esq.,      tributor,  40.  Sussex  Co. Resolutions,  225. 

103,  104.  Crane,  Stephen,  Esq.,  84,  Upper    Freehold    Resolu- 

Hutchinson,  Foster,  Esq.,      230.  tions,  232. 

Judge,  103, 105,  120.  Dayton,    Jonathan,    Esq.,  Witherspoon,  Dr.  John,  96, 

Hutchinson,  Mr,,Chief  Jus-      368,  383.  233,  362. 

tiee,  16,  17,  18,  103,  291.        De   Hart,  John,  Esq.,  84,  Woodbridge       Committee 
King,  Rufus,  Esq.,  365,  369,       220.  Resolutions  231  232. 

383.  Delegates  to   Continental 

Lexington,  130, 316.  Congress,  229.  NEW  HAMPSHTRF 

Lincoln,   Benj.    Esq.,  124.     Essex  Co.  Grand  Jury  Ad-        J^W  HAJttK>. 

Lovell,  James,  Esq.,  361.          dress  to  the  Chief   Jus-  Address  of  Convention  to 
Malcolm,  John,  109.                    tice,  227,  228.  the  inhabitants,  141. 

Massachusetts,  7,  10,  16,  96,  Essex  Co.  Resolutions,  220.  Bartlett,    Josiah,  Esq.,  95, 

354,361,367,369,383.  Fallman,  Peter,  Esq.,  231.         141,361, 

Massachusetts    Provincial  Field,  Richard  S.,  Esq.,  37.  Belknap,  historian,  19,  134. 

Congress,126, 127, 128, 130.   Fisher,  Hendrick,  Esq.,  233.  Belknap's  history,  extract 
Massachusetts     House    of  Franklin,  Gov.,  40.  from,  19. 

Representatives,  Resolu-  Frelinghuysen,  Mr.  Freder-  Castle  William  and  Mary, 

tions  by,  110.  ick,  233.  Portsmouth,  137,  138. 

Massachusetts    House    of  Hart,  John,  96,  233.  Claget,  Justice,  21. 

Representatives  author-  Historical  Society,  37.  Cochran,  captain  of  Castle 

izes  Declaration  of  Inde-  Hopkinson,  Francis,  Esq.,      William  and   Mary,  137, 

pendence,  131.  96,233.  138. 

Massachusetts  declared  to  Houston,  William  Church-  Committee  of  Portsmouth, 

be  in  rebellion,  129.  ill,  Esq  ,  367,  368.  135. 

Middlesex  Co.,  121.  Hunterdon     Co.     Resolu-  Cutts,    Samuel,    Esq.,  137, 

New  Plymouth,  130.  tions,  223.  139,  141. 

Oliver,  Peter,  Esq.,  Chief  Johnson,  Robert,  Esq.,  232.  Emery,  Mr.  Noah,  144. 

Justice,  119,  291.  Kearney,  Philip,  Esq.,  39.  Epsom  Resolves,  139. 

Oliver,       Andrew,      Esq.,  Kinsey,   Mr.,  Delegate    to  Extract  from  Gazette,  20. 

Stamp-distributor,  16,  17,       Congress,  84,  230.  Fenton,  Col.,  139. 

18.  Lawrence,  John,  Esq.,  Up-  Folsom,  Nathaniel,  Esq., 84, 

Otis,  James,  Esq.,  8,  9,  16.         per  Freehold  Co.,  232.  140. 

Paine,  Robert  Treat,  Esq.,  Livingston,  Gov.   William,  Gilman,     Nicholas,     Esq., 

84,95,110.  76,84,87,230,368,383.  369,383. 

Revere,  Paul,  Esq..  137, 139.   Lower   Freehold     Resolu-  Independence    authorized, 
Rotch,  owner  of  vessel  that      tions,  220.  143. 

brought  tea  to    Boston,  Middlesex  Co.  Resolutions,  Langdon,  Capt,  John,  137, 

105.  224.  140,  369,  372,  383. 


394 


INDEX. 


Letter  from  Committee  of 

Portsmouth,  135. 
Letter  from    Gov.   Went- 

worth  to  Gen.  Gage,  137. 
Lewis,  Peter,  Esq.,  Gover 
nor's  Counsellor,  132. 
Messerve,   Mr.,   appointed 

Stamp-distributor,  19,  20. 
New   Hampshire,  19,   181, 

354,  361,  367,  369,  383. 
Pickering,  John,  Esq.,  141, 

369. 

Portsmouth,  134. 
Provincial  Convention,  140. 
Stamp  Act,  19. 
Sullivan,   John,   Esq.,  84, 

137, 140. 
Tappan,  Mr.  Christopher, 

141. 
Thompson,  Mr.  Ebenezer, 

141. 
Trecothick,  Barlow,  Esq., 

Thornton,  Matthew.  95. 
Wentworth,  John,  Esq.,  20, 

132,  133,  138,  139,  140,  361. 
Wentworth,  Benning,  Esq., 

Gov.,  131, 137. 
Weare,  Mesheck,  Esq.,  140. 
West,  Benjamin,  Esq.,  369. 
Whiting,  Mr.,  137. 
Whipple.Wm.,  Esq.,  95, 141. 

NEW  YORK. 
Alsop,  John,  Esq.,  73,   84, 

177,  178. 
Association  of  New  York, 

193. 
Bache,    Theophilas,   Esq., 

177. 

Bayard,  William,  177 
Beekman,  Gerard  W.,  177. 
Belknap,  Mr.  Joseph,  192. 
Benson,  Egbert,  367. 
Benson,  Robert,  Esq.,  191. 
Blake,  Mr.  Jonathan,  178. 
Yloomer,  Mr.  Robert,  183. 
Boerum,  Simon,  Esq.,  75, 

Booth,  Benjamin,  177. 

Bowery,  the  New  York, 
Public  Meeting  in,  195. 

Brown,  George,  177. 

Brown,  John,  Esq.,  196. 

Brookhaven  Committee  ap 
points  Committee  of  Ob 
servation,  194. 

Brookhaven  Committee  re 
solves,  195. 

Broom,  John,  177. 

Brosher,  Abraham,  177, 196. 

Buli,  Joseph,  177. 

Carpenter,  Mr.  Zeno,  183. 

Clinton,  Mr.  Chas.,  186, 187. 

Golden,  Cadwallader,  Lt.- 
Gov.,  31.  32,  33,  35,  174, 
176,  187, 188. 

Committee  of  Correspond 
ence,  176,  177. 

Committee,  General  of 
N.Y.,  190. 


Committee,  General,  Ad 
dress  to  Gov.,  190. 

Corporation  of  New  York 
City,  190. 

Contine,  Mr.  Matthew,  186. 

Corporation  of  New  York, 
Address  to  Gov.  Tryon, 
191. 

Cross,  Mr.  Robert,  192. 

Cumberland  Co.  Commit 
tee  Resolutions,  194. 

Curtenius,  Peter  T.,  177. 

Dennison,  Mr.  George,  192. 

Delaney,  John,  177. 

Desbrosses,  Elias,  Esq.,  177. 

Destruction  of  stamps,  37. 

Duane.  James,  Esq.,  84, 
178,  361. 

Duer,  James,  Esq.,  177, 
361. 

Duryee,  Abraham,  177. 

Duyckinck,  Gerandus,  177. 

East  Hampton  Resolutions, 
181. 

Elmendorph,  Capt.  John, 
186. 

Floyd,  Wm.,  Esq.,  84,  95. 

Fort  George,  33. 

Foy,  capt.  of  Fort  George, 
33. 

Francis,  Mr.  Samuel,  177. 

Goelet,  Peter,  177. 

Hallett,  Mr.  Joseph,  177, 
196. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  Esq., 


Hanover  Committee  Re 
solves,  186. 

Haring,  John,  183. 

Haring,  Peter  T.,  183. 

Hardenbergh,  Col.  Johan 
nes,  185, 186. 

Hardenbergh,  Mr.  Johan 
nes  G.,  186. 

Hasbrouck,  Mr.  Jacob,  Jr., 
186. 

Haviland,  Ebenezer,  183, 
184. 

Herring,  John,  Esq.,  75. 

Hicks,  Whitehead,  Esq., 
Mayor  of  N.  Y.,  191. 

Hoffman,  Nicholas,  177. 

Horsmanden,  Chief  Justice 
N.  Y.,  31. 

Horton,  Mr.  James,  183. 

Huntington  Resolutions, 
182. 

Jackson,  Mr.  William,  186. 

Jamaica  Town  Meeting 
Resolutions,  185. 

Jauncey,  James,  177. 

Jay,  John,  Esq.,  76,  84,  85, 
87,  177,  178,  179. 

Johnston,  David,  177. 

Jones,  Mr.  Gardiner,  183. 

Kemp,  Mr.,  Attorney -gen 
eral,  32. 

Kings  Co.,  75. 

Laight,  Edward,  177. 

Lansing,  John,  Jr.,  Esq., 
3G9. 


Latta,  Mr.  James,  186. 

Lent,  Col.  Abram,  183. 

Letter  from  N.  Y.  Com 
mittee  to  Boston  Com 
mittee,  179,  180. 

Lewis.  Mr.  Francis,  95, 178, 
196,  361. 

Lispenard,    Mr.    Leonard, 

177,  196. 

Livingston,  Mr.  P.  V.  B., 

3'2,  177,  196. 
Livingston,Robert  R.,Esq., 

8,  9,  32. 
Livingston,    Philip,    Esq., 

32,  84,  76,  85,  95,  177. 
Livingston,  William,  Esq., 

82 

Lott,  Mr.  Abram  P.,  177, 196. 
Low,   Isaac,   Esq.,  84,  177, 

178,  181,  194. 

Ludlow,  Gabriel  H.,  177. 
Mabie,  Mr.  Yost,  183. 
Mandeville,    Mr.    Francis, 

192. 

McAdam,  William,  177. 

McDougall,  Mr.  Alexander, 
177,  1915. 

McEwers,  Mr.,  Stamp-dis 
tributor,  32. 

McEvers,  Charles,  177. 

Marston,  Thomas,  177. 

Meeting,  Windsor  Resolu 
tions.  192. 

Miller,  Mr.  Eleazer,  181. 

Moore,   Sir   Henry,    Gov., 

33,  35,  36,  37,  175. 
Moore,  John,  177. 
Morris,  Gouverneur,  361. 
Morris,  Lewis,  95. 
Newkirk,  Mr.  Jacob,  186. 
New  York,  30,  174,  354,  361, 

366,  367,  369,  383. 

N.  Y.  Assembly  appoints 
Committee  of  Corre 
spondence,  195. 

Nicholl,  Charles.  177. 

O'Cullaghan,  N.  Y.  histori 
cal  collector,  174,  192. 

Orange  Town  Resolutions, 
182. 

Out  water,  Mr.  Thomas,  183. 

Palatine  Resolutions,  184. 

Parks,  Mr.  Arthur,  186. 

Pearsall,  Thomas,  177. 

Randall,  Thomas,  Capt., 
177,  196. 

Remson,  Henry,  177. 

Rye  Resolutions,  183. 

Sears,  Isaac,  Esq.,  174,  177, 
196. 

Seizure  of  ordnance  by 
the  people,  191. 

Shaw,  Charles,  Esq.,  177. 

Sharpe,  Richard,  177. 

Sherbrook,  Miles.  177. 

Shutts,  Nuoc,  192. 

Smith,  Mr.  William,  181. 

Smith.  Mr.  Hendrick,  186. 

Sons  of  Liberty,  16. 

South  Haven  Resolutions, 
181. 


INDEX. 


395 


Speech  of  Isaac  Low,  178. 

Stamp  Act,  174. 

Thomas,  Mr.  John,  Jr.,  183. 

Thomas,  Mr.  Samuel. 

Thompson,  Samuel,  195. 

Thurman,  John,  177. 

Trimble,  Alexander,  186. 

Tryon,  Gov.,  175.  176,  190, 
192. 

Tryon  to  Dartmouth,  175. 

Tryon  retreats  to  British 
man-of-war,  191, 

Ulster  Co.  Meeting,  185. 

Ulster  Co.  Meeting  Resolu 
tions,  185. 

Van  Horn,  David,  177. 

Van  Schaach,  Mr.  Peter, 
177,  178. 

Van  Zandt,  Mr.  Jacobus, 
177,  196. 

Wallace,  Alexander,  177. 

Walton,  Abraham,  177. 

Walton,  William,  177. 

Westchester  Co.  Resolu 
tions,  184. 

White,  Mr.  Hezekiah,  192. 

Wicker,  Mr.  Thomas. 

Wisner,  Henry,    Esq.,  73, 

Wood,  Israel,  Esq.,  182. 
Woodhull,  John,  195. 
Wyncoop,  Mr.  Adrian,  186. 
Yates,  Richard,  177. 
Yates,  Robert,  Esq.,  369. 
Young,  Hamilton,  177. 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Alamance  Creek,  62. 

Alston,William,  Esq.,  Hali 
fax,  294. 

Alexander,  Abraham, 
Mecklenberg,  316. 

Alexander,  Adam,  Esq., 
Mecklenberg,  315. 

Alexander,  Robert,  Esq., 
Mecklenberg,  302. 

Alexander,  John  McKnitt, 
Esq.,  Mecklenberg,  316. 

Ancrum,  John,  Esq.,  293. 

Anson  Co.,  296,  301. 

Ashe,  Samuel,  Esq.,  293. 

Ash,  John,  Esq.,  57,  58. 

Association  of  Ladies,  307. 

Bath,  N.  C.,  302. 

Benbury,  Thomas,  301. 

Beaufort  Co.,  301. 

Bertie  Co.,  301,  309. 

BladenCo.  301. 

Blount,  Wm.,  Esq.,  368,  383. 

Bradford,  John,  294. 

Brevard,    Eph      Esq.,  314. 

Brearley,  David,  Esq. 

Brigtt,  Simon,  Esq.,  301. 

Brown,  William,  Esq.,  302. 

Brunswick  Co.,  57,  301. 

Bryan,  Needham,  Esq.,  301. 

Campbell,  John,  Esq.,  301. 

Campbell,  Farquard,  Esq., 

'    301. 

Cape  Fear,  57,  295. 


Carteret  Co.,  301. 

Caswell,  Richard,  73,  P4, 
301,  305,  306,  308,  309,  315. 

Charlotte,  N.  C.,  Mecklen 
berg  Co.,  311,  315. 

Chowan  Co.,  301. 

Clayton,  Francis,  Esq.,  293, 
302. 

Cogdell,  Richard,  Esq.,  295, 

301,  317,  318. 
Collett,  Capt.,  295. 
Congress    at    llilsborough 

Resolutions,  318. 

Convention  at  Newbern, 
297. 

Coor,  James,  Esq.,  301. 

Craven  Co.,  301, 

Cumberland  Co.,  301. 

Davis,  A.,  295. 

Davie,  William  Richardson, 
Esq.,  368. 

Davis,  James,  310. 

Declaration  of  Mecklen 
berg  (May  20,  1775),  311, 
315. 

De  Rossett,  Lewis  H.,  Esq., 
295,  300,  301,  309. 

Dickson,  William,  296,  301. 

Diligence,  British  sloop 
with  stamps,  57. 

Dobbs  Co.,  301. 

Duplin  Co.,  301. 

Dry,  Wm.,  Esq.,  300,  301. 

Edenton,  57,  302,  307. 

Edwards,  Isaac,  Esq.,  302. 

Everigin,  .Edward,  Esq., 
302. 

Few,  Capt.,  62. 

Fort  Johnston,  295. 

Fraser,  Jeremiah,  Tyrrell 
Co.,  302. 

Geddy,  John,  Esq.,  Hali 
fax,  302. 

Gibson,  Walter,  Esq.,  Bla- 
den  Co.,  301. 

Granville  Co.,  60,  301. 

Gray,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Du 
plin  Co.,  301. 

Gray,  Mr.  William,  Onslow 
Co.,  302. 

Guilford  Co.,  296. 

Hagan,  James,  Esq.,  Hali 
fax  Co.,  294. 

Halifax  Co.  Committee 
Resolutions,  294,  301. 

Halifax  Town,  302. 

Harvey,  John,  Esq.,  Per- 
quimans  Co.,  302. 

Harnett,  Corns,  362. 

Harvey  James,  310. 

Harvey,   John,    Esq.,  297, 

302,  307. 

Hart,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Or 
ange  Co.,  302. 

Harvey,  Benjamin,  Esq., 
Perquimans  Co.,  302. 

Harvey,  Thomas,  Esq., 
Perquimans  Co.,  302. 

Hasell,  James,  Esq.,  New 
bern,  300,  301,  309. 

Hatch,  Lemuel,  301. 


Haywood,    Egbert,    Esq., 

Halifax  Co.,  294. 
Haynes,     Thomas,     Esq., 

Halifax,  294. 

Haynes,  Eaton,  Esq.,  296. 
Hearring,  Jonathan,  Esq., 

Pasquotank  Co.,  309. 
Hewes,  Joseph,  Esq  ,    73, 

84,  96,  302,  305,  308,  315. 
Hicks,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Du 

plin  Co.,  301. 
Hillsborough,  61. 
Hill,  Green,  Esq.,  Bute  Co., 

301. 
Hogg,  Robert,   Esq.,  Wil 

mington,  293. 
Hooper,  William,  Esq.  ,  73, 

84,  96,  293,  301,  305,  308, 

315. 
Houston,      James, 


inted 


----,  ---, 
Howe,  Robert,  Esq.,  Wil 

mington,  293,  301. 
Husbands,  Herman,  Esq., 

60. 
Hunter,     Thomas,     Esq., 

Chowan  Co.,  301. 
Hunt,      Memucan,      Esq., 

Granville  Co.,  301. 
Hunter,  Mr.,  296. 
Hyde  Co.,  301 
Jarvis,  Samuel,  Esq.,  Cur- 

rituck  Co.,  301 
Jenkins,  David,  Esq.,  Try- 

on  Co.,  302. 
Johnston,     Samuel,    Esq., 

Chowan  Co.,  301,  318. 
Johnson,  Samuel,  Esq.,  306. 
Johnston  Co.,  301. 
Jones,     Frederick,     Esq., 

Wilmington,  293. 
Jones,  William,  Esq.,  Hali 

fax,  294. 
Jones,       Thomas,      Esq,, 

Chowan  Co.,  301. 
Jones,  Allen,  Esq.,  North- 

hampton,  302. 
Jones,  Joseph,  Esq.,  Pas 

quotank  Co.,  302. 
Jones,  Willie,  Esq.,  301,  368. 
Journals  of  Assembly,  309. 
Kenan,  James,  Esq.,   Du 

plin,  301. 
Kennon,     William,     Esq., 

Rowan  Co.,  302. 
Knox,  Andrew,  Esq.,  Per 

quimans  Co.,  297,  302. 
Latham,     Rothias,     Esq., 

Hyde  Co.,  301. 
Leech,  Joseph,  Esq.,  Cra 

ven  Co.,  301. 
Long,  Nicholas,  Esq.,  Hali 

fax  Co.,  294,  301. 
Maclain,    Archibald,  Esq., 

Wilmington,  293. 
Macknight,  Thomas,  Esq., 

Currituck  Co.,  297. 
McCulloch,  Benjamin,  Esq., 

Halifax,  294. 


396 


INDEX. 


McKinney,  William,  Esq., 
Dobbs  Co.,  301. 

McCulloch,  Alexander, 
Esq.,  309. 

McGuire,  Thomas,  Esq. 

Martin,  historian,  7,  55,  57, 
59. 

Martin,  Josiah,  Esq.,  Gov., 
295,  300,  301,  308,  309,  314. 

Martin,  Alex.,  Escr,  368. 

Mecklenberg  Co.  Resolves 
(of  May  31,  1775),  301,311, 
314,  315. 

Mercury,  Cape  Fear,  314, 
315. 

Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants, 
57. 

Miller,  Mr.  Andrew,  mer 
chant,  Halifax,  294,  295. 

Miller,  George,  Esq.,  Dobbs 
Co., 301. 

Moore,  Col.  James,  Wil 
mington,  293. 

Nash,  Abner,  Esq.,  302. 

Newbern,  57,  295,  297,  302. 

New  Hanover  Co.,  57,  301. 

Newbern  Committee,  317, 
318. 

Newbern  Committee  Reso 
lutions,  317. 

North  Carolina.  56,  291,  354, 
362,  367.  368,  383. 

North  Carolina  Conven 
tion,  301. 

N.  C.  Provincial  Congress, 
Resolutions  of,  for  Inde 
pendence,  320. 

Northampton  Co.  Commit 
tee,  296,  302. 

Oldham,  Thomas,  Esq., 
Chowan  Co.,  301. 

Onslow  County,  302. 

Ormond,  Roger,  Esq., 
Beaufort  Co.,  301. 

Pasquotank  Co.,  302,  309. 

Patton,  Benjamin,  Esq., 
Mecklenberg  Co.,  301. 

Penn,  John,  96,  362. 

Person,  General  Thomas, 
60,  301. 

Person,  William,  Esq., 
Bute  Co.,  801. 

Perkins,  Solomon,  Esq., 
Currituck  Co.,  301. 

Perquimans  Co.,  297,  302. 

Pitt  Co.,  302. 

Polk,  Col.  Thomas. 

Proclamation,  a,  300,  308, 
309,  314. 

Privy  Council,  299,  300. 

Quince,  Parker,  299. 

Raleigh  Register,  311,  315. 

Randolph  Co.,  60. 

Rayner,  Nathan,  Esq., 
Currituck  Co.,  301. 

Reading,  Joseph,  Esq., 
Pasquotank  Co.,  302. 

Regulation  War,  58. 

Respass,Thomas,  Jr.,  Esq., 
Beaufort  Co.,  301. 

Rowan  Co.,  302. 


Rutherford,    John,    Esq., 

301,  309. 
Rutherford,  Thomas,  Esq., 

Cumberland  Co.,  301. 
Salter,       William,      Esq., 

Bladen  Co  ,  301. 
Salter,  Edward,  Esq.,  Pitt 

Co.,  302. 
Sampson,      John,      Esq., 

Newbern,  300,  301. 
Simpson,  John,  Esq.,  Pitt 

Co.,  302. 
Smith,  Samuel.  Esq.,  Hyde 

Co.,  801. 
Smythwick,  Edmund, 

Esq.,  Martin  Co.,  301. 
Spaight,    Richard    Dobbs, 

Esq.,  368,  383. 
Spencer,  Mr.  Samuel,  301. 
Spruill,  Joseph,  Esq.,  Tyr 
rell  Co.,  302. 
Stamp  Act,  56. 
Stanley,  Mr.  David,  Bertie 

Co.,  309. 
Strudwick,  Samuel,   Esq., 

309. 

Sumner,  David,  294. 
Taylor,  Rev.  Charles  Ed 
ward,  296. 
Thomas,    William,     Esq., 

Anson  Co.,  301. 
Thomas,    William,     Esq., 

Carteret  Co. 

Thompson,  William,  301. 
Try  on,  Gov.,  57,  CO,  61,  291. 
Try  on  Co.  Association,  302, 

317. 

Tyrrell  Co.,  302. 
Waddell  Col.,  57. 
Warwick,    Mr.    Anthony, 

296. 
Weldon,     Samuel,     Esq., 

Halifax,  294. 

Whedbee,  John,    Jr.,  Per 
quimans  Co.,  302. 
Williams,  John,  362. 
Wilmington,  298,  299,  302. 
Williamson,  Dr.  Hugh,  59, 

292,  364,  368,  383. 
Wilmington     Resolutions, 

293. 
Williams,    Joseph     John, 

Esq.,  Halifax,  294. 
Williams,  Benjamin.  Esq., 

Johnston  Co.,  301. 
Winslow,      Moses,      Esq., 

Rowan  Co.,  302. 
Wilmington  District  Asso 
ciation,  57,  319. 
Wilmington      Committee, 

Letter  from,  297. 
Young,      Samuel,      Esq., 

Rowan  Co.,  802. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Address  to  John  Hancock 
and  Thomas  Gushing, 
207. 

Allen,  William,  Esq.,  44. 

Allen,  Mr.,  Cumberland 
Co.,  197. 


Assembly  Resolutions,  41, 
204,  212,  213. 

Assembly  authorizes  Inde 
pendence,  216,  217. 

Assembly  Protest,  199. 

Biddle,  Edward,  Esq.,  84, 
205. 

Bradford,    William,    Esq., 

Bucks     Co.     Resolutions, 

206,  209. 

Carlisle,  letter  from,  209. 
Chapman,  Mr.  John,  206. 
Cheney,  Mr.  Richard,  206. 
Chester  Co.,  201. 
Chester    Co.    Committee, 

206,  210. 
Chester    Co.    Resolutions, 

201.  210. 

Clingan,  William,  362. 
Clymer,    George,    96,    368, 

383. 

Convention  approves  pro 
ceedings  of  Continental 

Congress,  205. 
Cox,  John,  Esq.,  44. 
Coxe,  Tench,  Esq.,  367. 
Dickinson,  John,  Esq.,  10, 

44,  80,  84,  87,  201,  205. 
Donaldson.  Joseph,  208. 
Dowdle,  Michael,  208. 
Dovel,  William,  Esq.,  44. 
Duche,  Rev.  Mr.,  73. 
Eichelberger,George,  208. 
Fitzsimmons,Thomas,Esq., 

363,  368,  383. 
Franklin,  Dr.  Benjamin,  43, 

46,  87,  91,  96,  213,  214,  337, 


Frazer,  Mr.,   Chester  Co., 

206. 

Friend,  Capt.,44. 
Fuvin,  George,  208. 
Galloway,    Joseph,    Esq. , 

84,  197. 

Gordon,  historian,  197. 
Greenow,  Mr..  Chester  Co., 

206. 

Grier,  David,  208. 
Hart,  Joseph,  Esq.,  Buck's 

Co.,  206,  210. 
Hartley,  Thomas,  208. 
Hartley,  David,  214. 
Hay,  John,  208. 
Hockley,  Mr.,  Chester  Co., 

206. 

Hughes,  John,  stamp  mas 
ter,  42,  43,  45.  46. 
Humphreys,  Chas,  84.  205. 
Ingersoll,  Jared,  368, 383. 
Johnston,     Mr.     Francis, 

Chester  Co.,  206,  211. 
Kean,  Mr.,  365. 
Kidd,    Mr.    John,     Bucks 

Co.,  210. 
Kirkbride,     Mr.     Joseph, 

Bucks  Co.,  210. 
Lancaster  Co.  Resolutions, 

200. 
Leedom,      Mr.      Richard, 

Bucks  Co. 


INDEX. 


397 


Lloyd,  Mr.,  206. 

McCall,  Archibald,  44. 

Meeting  of  Mechanics,  Res 
olutions  of,  200. 

Miffilin,  Thomas,  Esq..  84, 
205,  368,  383. 

Morris,  Robert,  Esq.,  44, 
96,  362,  368,  383. 

Morton,  John,  Esq.,  84,  96, 
205. 

Moore,  Mr.,  Chester  Co., 
206. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  Esq., 
368,  383. 

Muhlenberg,  Frederick  A., 
Esq.,  Speaker,  372. 

Northampton  Co.  Resolu 
tions,  202. 

Pennsylvania,  10,  41,  196, 
354,  362,  366,  367,  368,  383. 

Peun,  Willicam,  Esq.,  234. 

Pennsylvania  Convention, 
202,  205. 

Pennsylvania  Convention 
Resolutions,  203. 

Pettit,  Mr.,  365. 

Petition  to  the  King,  197. 

Philadelphia  Resolutions, 
201. 

Presbyterians,  43. 

Reed,  Joseph,  362,  364. 

Reel,  Peter,  208. 

Richards,  William,  44. 

Roberdeau,  Daniel,  362. 

Ross,  Geo.  Esq.,  73,  84,  96. 

Rush,  Benjamin,  96. 

Schmyser,  Michael,  208. 

Smith,  Jonathan.  Bayard, 
362. 

Smith,  James,  96,  208. 

Spang] er,  Balzard,  208. 

Stamp  Act,  41. 

Swope,  Michael,  208. 

Taylor,  Mr.  George,  Ches 
ter  Co.,  96.  202,  206. 

Thompson,  Mr.  Charles,  44, 
45. 

Tilghman,  James,  Esq.,  44, 
45. 

Wallace,  Mr.  James,  Bucks 
Co.,  210. 

Wayne,  Anthony,  Esq.,210. 

Westmoreland  Co.  Meeting 
of  Inhabitants,  211. 

Westmorland  Co.  Meeting, 
Resolutions  by,  211. 

Wilson,  James,  96,  368,  383. 

Willing,  T.  Esq.,  201. 

Wyncoop,  William,  210. 

Yorktown  Committee,  206. 

York  Co.  Committee  let 
ter  to  Gov.,  208. 

RHODE  ISLAND. 
Angell,  James,  Esq.,  165. 


Assembly,  General,  Reso 
lutions,  21,  163,  165,  169, 
171,  363. 

Bo  wen,  Ephraim,  24. 


Bradford,    William,    Esq., 

169. 

Briggs,  Aaron,  Esq.,  162. 
British  Sloop  Cygnet,  22. 
Brown,  Moses,  Esq.,  23. 
Brown,  John,  Esq.,  162. 
Charter  of  R.  I.,  23. 
Collins,  John,  361. 
Daughters  of  Liberty,  24. 
Ellery,  William,  95,  361. 
Fort  George,  22. 
Gaspee  Point.  162. 
Gazette,  Providence,  21. 
Gorton,   Othniel,  Esq.,  23. 
Green,  Benjamin,  Esq.,  23. 
Greene,    Nathaniel,    Gen., 

169,  174. 

Hazzard,  George,  23. 
Hall,  William,  Esq.,  23. 
Hopkins,     Stephen,    Esq., 

Chief  Justice,  84,  95,  161, 

163. 

Howard,  Martin,  Jr.,  21. 
Jenckes.  Daniel,  Esq.,  23. 
Johnston,  Augustus,  Esq., 

21. 

Katy,  armed  vessel,  172. 
Leslir,  captain  of  Cygnet. 

22. 
Letter    from   New   York, 

167. 

Letter  to  Speaker  of  As 
sembly,  169. 
Marchant,  Henry,  361. 
Mawney,  Dr.  John,  162. 
Moffat,'Dr.,  21. 
Newport,  23. 
Newport     Committee     to 

Philadelphia  Committee, 

168. 
Nitingale,    Samuel,     Esq., 

164. 
Providence  Town  Meeting, 

166. 
Providence  Town  Meeting 

Resolutions,  163,  164. 
Randall,  Joseph,  23. 
Rhode  Island,  160,  354,  361, 

363,  367. 

Sabin,  Mr.  James,  162. 
Sons  of  Liberty,  24. 
Stamp  Act,  21. 
Wanton,  Gideon,  Gov.,  22, 

161,  163,  172. 
Wanton,  Joseph,  Gov.,  22, 

161,  163,  172. 

Ward,  Samuel,  Gov.,  22, 24. 
Ward,  Henry,  Esq.,  23, 166, 

170,  172. 

Ward,  Samuel,  Esq.,  22. 
Washington,  armed  vessel, 

172. 
Whipple,  Capt.  Abraham, 

162,  172. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Ashley  River,  64.  Non-consumption   of    tea, 

Association,  332,  334.  327. 

Boone,  Gov.,  62.  Parsons,  Mr.,  321. 

Bradley,  Mr.  Samuel,  330.  Payn,  John,  Esq.,  330. 


Bull,  Lieut.  Gov.,  62. 
Butler,  Pierce,   Esq.,   369, 

383. 

Campbell.  Lord  Wm.,  333. 
Cannon,  Daniel,  Esq.,  64 
Cantey,  Samuel,  330. 
Cantey,  John,  330. 
Carter,  Robert,  330. 
Cassells,  Henry,  330. 
Cattell,  Mr.,  326. 
Charleston,  62. 
Cheraw,  328. 

Christ  Church  Parish,  326. 
Coffity,  Thomas,  330. 
Constitution  agreed  upon, 

335. 

Conyers,  James,  330. 
Dart,  Mr.,  321. 
Davis,  Mr.  James. 
Dealey,  John,  332. 
Drayton,  Mr.  historian,  63, 

326,331. 
Drayton,  William   Henry, 

judge,  328,  352. 
Dukey.  Edward,  330. 
Dunn,  Sylvester,  Esq.,  330. 
Elliott,  Mr.,  321. 
English,  Joshua,  330. 
Extracts  of  letters,  322,  325. 
Frier  son,  Aaron,  Esq.,  330. 
Gadsden,Christopher,  Esq., 

8,  9,  63,  85,  321,  324,  326, 

327. 

Gamble,  John,  330. 
Gazette,  311,  327. 
General  Meeting,  Charles 
ton,  Resolutions,  322,  323. 
General  Order  of  General 

Washington,  336. 
Gordon,  Moses,  330. 
Grand  Jury  Presentment, 

329. 
Hey  ward,  Thomas,  Jr.,  96, 

362. 

Heywood,  Mr.,  326. 
Hunter,  Henry,  Esq.,  330. 
Hutson,  Richard,  362. 
James'  Island,  64. 
Johnson,  Fort,  Charleston, 

63,64. 

Lamboll's  Bridge,  64. 
Lasley,  Capt.,  333. 
Laurens,  Henry,  Esq.,  321, 

332,  362. 
Lloyd,  Mr.,  321. 
Lloyd,  commandant  Fort 

Johnson,  64. 
Lynch,  Thomas,  Esq.,  9,  63, 

85,  96,  321,  324,  326,  327. 
Martin,  Loughlin,  332,  333. 
Matthews,  John,  362. 
Middleton,  Arthur,  96. 
Middleton.  Henry,  Esq.,  85, 

324,  326,  327. 
Montague,  Gov.,  321. 


398 


INDEX. 


Pinckney,  Charles  Cotes- 
worth.  Esq.,  321,  365.  369, 
383. 

Pinckney,Charles,Esq.,  365, 
309,  383. 

Powell,  Col.  George  G.,  326. 

Provincial  Congress,  330, 
334. 

Provincial  Congress,  Ad 
dress  to  Gov.,  333,  334. 

Provincial  Congress  Reso 
lutions,  331,  334. 

Rutledge,  John,  Esq.,  9,  63, 
76,  85,  87,  324,  326,  327, 

Rutiedge,  Edward,  Esq., 
9,  76,  85,  96,  321,  324,  326, 

Singleton,  Matthew,  330. 
South  Carolina,  62,  321, 354, 

362,  369,  383. 
S.  C.  Assembly  Resolves, 

326. 

Smith,  Rev.  Robert,  332. 
St.  Philip's  Church,  332. 
St.  John's,  Colleton  Co.,326. 
Stamp  Act,  63,  65. 
Styles'  Plantation,  64. 
Sutton,  Jasper,  Esq.,  330. 
Timothy,  Peter,  Esq.,  334. 
Weyman,  Edward,  Esq. ,  64. 
Williamson,  Wm.,  Esq., 64. 
Wilson,  David,  330. 
Witherspoon,  John,   Esq., 

330. 

VIRGINIA. 

Accomack  Co.  Resolutions, 
282. 

Adams,  Thomas.,  362. 

Adams,  Richard,  Esq.,  274. 

Albemarle  Co.  Resolu 
tions,  281. 

Alexander,  John,  Esq.,  280. 

Allen,  Mr.  Isham,  268. 

Anderson,  Benjamin  Esq., 
Hanover  Co.,  288. 

Assembly,  General,  Reso 
lutions,  368. 

Augusta  Co.  Resolutions, 
284,  290. 

Aylett,  William,  Esq.,  288.  • 

Balmain,  Rev.  Alex.,  284. 

Banister,  John,  362. 

Berkeley,  Nelson,  288. 

Blair,  John.  368,  383. 

Bland,  Richard,  Esq.,  84, 
261. 

Botetourt,  Gov.,  259,  260. 

Bowyer,  Mr.  Michael,  284. 

Bradford,  John,  Esq. 

Braxton,  Carter,  Esq.,  96, 
288. 

Bright,  Mr.  Robert,  280. 

Broad  water,  Charles,  279. 

Buckingham  Co.  Resolu 
tions,  284. 

Burgesses,  House  of,  258, 
261. 

Burgesses.  House  of,  Reso 
lutions  of,  258. 


Buike,  historian,  10,  55, 
261. 

Carrington,  Paul,  55. 

Cary,  Archibald,  Esq..  261. 

Carr,  Dabney,  Esq.,  261. 

Carter,  Charles,  Esq.,  280. 

Caroline  Co.  Resolutions, 
273. 

Chesterfield  Co.  Resolu 
tions,  272. 

Charlottsville.  287. 

Cocke,  Allen,  Esq.,  Surry 
Co.,  276. 

Cranch,  William,  Esq.,  288. 

Culpepper  Co.  Resolutions, 
268. 

Dabney,  George  Jr.,  288. 

Davis,  A.,  Esq.,  Halifax. 

Delegates,  House  of,  Reso 
lutions  by,  proposing 
General  Convention,  366. 

Diggs,  Dudley,  Esq.,  261, 
276. 

Dinwiddie  Co.  Resolutions, 
275. 

Doncastle's  Ordinary,  289. 

Dumfries,  287. 

Dunmore  Co.  Resolutions, 
264. 

Dunmore,  Lord. 

Duvall,  Samuel,  Esq.,  274. 

Essex  Co.  Resolutions,  269. 

Elizabeth  City  Co.  Resolu 
tions,  280. 

Fairfax  Co.  Resolutions, 
277. 

Faquier  Co.  Resolutions, 
269,  286. 

Fredericksburg,  269. 

Giberne,  Rev.  Isaac  W., 
266. 

Gilmer,  Lieut.  George,  288. 

Gloucester  Co.  Resolu 
tions,  272. 

Grayson,  Capt.  William, 
286,  287. 

Greenwood,  John,  Esq., 
Norfolk,  263. 

Hanover  Co.  Committee, 
288. 

Harrison,  Robert,  Esq., 
Halifax  Co.,  277. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  Esq., 
84,  91,  92,  96,  261. 

Harvey,  John,  362. 

Harvey ,William,  Esq.,Nor- 
folk,  263. 

Henrico  Co.,  Instructions 
to  Delegates,  274. 

Henrys  James,  Esq.,  Acco 
mack,  282. 

Henry.  Patrick.  15.  23,  53, 
54.  55,  76,  84,  261,  289,  368. 

Henry's  Resolutions  in  H. 
of  Burgesses.  54. 

Henry's  Speech  on  Stamp 
Act.  55. 

Hubbard,  James,  Esq., 
Gloucester  Co..  273. 

Hutchings,  Joseph,  Esq., 
Norfolk,  263. 


luglis,  Samuel,  Esq.,  Nor 
folk,  263. 

James  City  Co.  Resolu 
tions,  268. 

Jamiseon,  Neil,  Esq.,  Nor 
folk,  263. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  Esq., 
53,  55,  87,  91,  96,  261,  364. 

Jones.  Walter,  366. 

King  William  Co.,  288. 

King,  Henry,  Esq.,  Eliza 
beth  City,  280. 

Lawson,  Anthony,  Esq., 
283. 

Lee.  Francis  Lightfoot,  96, 
362. 

Lee,  Philip  R.  F.,  Esq.,  287. 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  Esq., 
72,  76,  84,  85,  91,  96,  261, 
362. 

Lewis,  Mr.  Thomas,  Au 
gusta  Co.,  284. 

Lewis.  Mr.  William,  Au 
gusta  Co.,  284. 

Lewis,  Capt.  Charles,  288. 

Love,  Alexander,  Esq., 
Norfolk,  263. 

Loyall,  Paul,  Esq..  Norfolk, 
263.  . 

McClenachan,  Capt.  Alex 
ander,  Augusta  Co.,  284. 

McClurg,  James,  Esq..  284. 

McDowell,  Capt.  Samuel, 
Augusta  Co.,  284. 

McRobert,  Rev.  Archibald, 
272. 

Madison,  James,  Jr.,  Esq., 
363,  366,  367,  368.  383.  ' 

Marks,  Jno.,  2d  Lieut.,  288. 

Mason,  George,  Esq.,  366, 
368. 

Matthews,  Mr.  Sampson, 
Augusta  Co..  284. 

Matthews,  Capt.  George, 
Augusta  Co.,  284. 

Mercer,  George,  Esq.,  55, 
56. 

Mercer,  Hugh,  Esq..  Fred 
ericksburg.  286,  287. 

Middlesex  Co.  Resolutions, 
274. 

Monroe,  James.  365. 

Morris,  Richard,  Esq., 
Hanover,  288. 

Nansemond  Co.  Resolu 
tions,  270. 

Nelson,  Thomas,  Jr.,  York 
Co..  96,  276. 

New  Kent  Co.,  271,  289. 

New  Kent  Co.  Resolutions, 
271. 

Newton.  Thomas,  Esq., 
Norfolk.  263. 

Nicholas,  Robert  Carter, 
261,  289. 

Norfolk,  Letter  of  Citizens 
to  People  of  Charleston, 
262. 

Overton,  Samuel,  Esq., 
Hanover,  288. 

Pendleton,  Hemy,  268. 


INDEX.  399 

Pendleton,  Edmund,  Esq.,  Address  of  the  two  Houses  Mansfield,  Lord,  3,4 

84,  201,  291.  of    Parliament     to    the  Montague,  Admiral,  161. 

Pendleton,      John,      Esq.,       King,  68.  New  Castle,  Duke  of,  13. 

Hanover,  288.  Address  of  House  of  Com-  North,  Lord,  299. 

Powell,  John,   Esq.,  Acco-       mons  to  the  King,  70.  Parliament,  British,  258 

mack,  283.  Barre,  Col.,  Member  of  Par-  Pitt,  William,  Esq.,  Speech 

Prince  William  Co.  Reso-       liament,  24,  59.  of,  19. 

lutions,  26.3.  Bedford,  Duke  of,  68.  Pitt,  William,  Earl  of  Chat- 

Prince  George    Co.  Reso-  Beaver,  British  schooner,       ham,  12,  16. 

lutions,  267.  161,  163.  Pownall,  John,  Esq.,  Sec- 

Princess  Anne    Go.  Reso-  Blackstone,    Sir   William,      retary  to  Board  of  Trade 

lutions,  283.  329.  72. 

Ratisdell,   Wharton,  Esq.,   Boston  Port  Bill,  106.  Reid,  Capt.  William,  Brit- 

269.  Buckinghamshire,  Earl  of,       ish  ship  Liberty,  161. 

Randolph,    Peyton,    Esq.,       96.  Revenue  Act,  219. 

84,  2G1,  337.  Burke,  Edmund.  Revenue   Act,  Repeal  of, 

Randolph,  Edmund,  Esq.,   Bute,  Earl  of,  17.  219. 

066,  367,  368.  '     Campbell,  Lord  William.  Revolutionary     Provincial 

Reed,  Joseph,  Esq.,  290.         Charles  I.,  55.  Governments,  120. 

Richmond  Resolutions,266.    Child,  Sir  Josiah,  3.  Rose,  British  ship,  167,  172. 

Robinson,  John,  Esq.,  288.    Chambers,  captain  of  ship  Speaker  elected,  372. 

Ronald,  William,  366.  London,  176.  State  Paper  Office,    Lon- 

Ross,  David,  366.  Commons,  House  of,  3.  don,  311. 

Skelton,  Merri wether, Esq.,   Commons,  House  of,  Reso-  Stamp  Act,  7,  9, 13,  15, 16. 

Hanover  Co.,  288.  lutions,  3,  71.  Swan,  British  ship,  172. 

Skinner,  Alexander,  Esq.,   Conway,  General,  13,  32, 36.  Townsend,  Charles,  59. 

Norfolk,  263.  40,  41.  Wallace,   captain   of    the 

Smith,  Merriwether,  366.      Cromwell,  Oliver.  British    ship   Rose,    167, 

Spotswood, Alexander,  287.   Davenant,  3.  172. 

Spotsylvania  Co.    Resolu-  Dartmouth,  Earl  of,  35,  71, 

tions,  266.  72,  175,  190,  191,  311.  MISCELLANEOUS. 

Stafford    Co.  Resolutions,   Duddingston,  lieutenant  of  Address  to  the  people  of 

279.  British  schooner  Beaver,       Great  Britain,  85,  90. 

Stamp  Act,  53.  161,  162.  Amendments  to  the  Con- 

Surry  Co.  Resolutions.  276.   Fanshaw,  captain  of  Brit-      stitution,  384. 

Syme,    John,    Esq.,   Han-      ish  ship  Speedwell,  66.  Allen,  Col.  Ethan,  157. 

over  Co.,  288.  Gaspee,   British  schooner,  Articles  of  Confederation, 

Tithes  paid  in  tobacco,  53.       161,  163.  354. 

Tucker,  St.   George,  Esq.,   Germain.  Lord  George,  70.  Archives,  American,  146. 

366,  367.  '     Graf  ton,  the  Duke  of,  3.  Bancroft,  Historian,  7,  10, 

Upshaw,  John,  Esq.,  269.      Graves,  Vice- Admiral.  311,  321,  322. 

Virginia,  53,  354,  362,  367,    Grenville,  Lord,  12,  13,  17.  Beginning  of  the  end,  72. 

368,  383.  Halifax,  Earl  of,  15,  16,  31.  Colonial  Documents,  39. 

Virginia   Convention,    285,  Hannah,  British  sloop,  162.  Colonies,  movements  of,96. 

291.  Hazzard's  Register,  41.  Committee  to  consider  In- 

Washington,  George,  Esq.,   Hillsborough,  Earl  of,  174,      dependence  Resolutions, 

84,  277,  279,  287,  290,  368.       197,  321,  338.  91. 

371,  372,  383,  386.  House  of  Lords,  Report  of,  Committees  of  Correspond- 

Weldon,  Mr.  G.,  287.  on  the  Colonies,  96.  ence,  261 

Westmoreland  Co.  Resolu-  King  George  HI.,  10,  306.  Congress  of  1774,  72. 

tions,  265.  King  George  III.,   Speech  Congress  of  1775,  87. 

Willis,  Mr.  John,  287.  of,  101.  Constitution  of  the  United 

Wirt,  William,  Esq.,  53.         King  WHHam   and   Queen      States  reported.  369. 

Woodstock,  264.  Mary,  394-337.  Constitution  ratified  by  the 

Wythe,  George,  Esq.,  96,   Liberty,     British      armed      States.  371. 

368.  sloop,  161.  Constitution,  text  of.  373. 

York  Co.  Resolutions.  276.    Lindsey,  Capt.  Benjamin,  Congress,   Continental,    7, 

British    sloop    Hannah,      242. 

rjTMTAT  mjTTAm  162'     '  Continental  Congress  rec- 

GREAT  BRITAIN.          Linzee,    captain    of     the      ommends     Colonies     to 

Beaver,  163.  form  governments,  242. 

Act    of    Parliament,    35th  Lords,  House  of,  67,  70.  Convention   to   frame  the 

Henry  VIII.,    A.D.  1543,   Lords,   House  of,   Resolu-       Constitution,  369. 

69,  342.  tions,  67.  Congress  of  Confederation, 

Act  abolishing  the  charter  Lords  of  Trade,  30,  32.  364. 

of  Massachusetts,  113.        Lords  of  Trade,  Address  to  Congress  of  Confederation, 
Act      sending      criminals      the  King,  31.  Resolutions  by,  365. 

beyond  sea  for  trial,  112,  Lords  of  the  Treasury,  13.  Declaration  of  Rights,  11, 

117.  Lockwood,  Captain,  176.  76. 

Ascough,  captain  of  British  Lockyer,  captain  of  East  Declaration   of   Independ- 

ship  Swan.  India  Company  ship,  176.      ence,  92. 


400 


INDEX. 


Declaration  of  causes  for 

taking  up  arms,  87, 88. 
Dumas,  M.,  France,  214. 
Dummer,  Mr.,  8. 
Election  of  President  and 

Vice  President,  372. 
Fletcher,  tyranny  of.  29. 
Gage,  Gen.,  9,  33,  40,  137, 

138,  139,  232. 
General     Convention      at 

Annapolis,     Resolutions 

by,  367. 
Goodloe,    Daniel   R.,  title- 

Hickey'R  Constitution,  354. 

Inaugural  Speech  of  Wash 
ington,  386. 

Independence.  Resolutions 
of  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
91. 

Independence  Resolutions, 
consideration  of,  91. 

Introduction,  3. 

Jackson,  William,  383. 

King  William  III.,  3. 

Liberty  Tree,  17. 

McCali,  Archibald,  Esq.,  44. 


Non-consumption  Associa 
tion,  80. 

Non-exportation  Associa 
tion,  80. 

Non-importation  Associa 
tion,  80. 

Paine's,  Thomas,  Common 
Sense,  215. 

Petition  to  the  King,  90. 

President  pro  tempore  of 
the  Senate  elected,  372. 

Priestly,  Dr.  Joseph,  213 

"  Prior  Documents,'1 41. 

Proceedings  of  Continental 
Congress,  72. 

Republic.  Birth  of  the,  7. 

Resolutions  of  Continental 
Congress,  72,  74,  75, 
76. 

Revolution,  English,  3. 

Reply  of  Congress  to  King's 
Proclamation,  90. 

Reply  of  Lords  to  King's 
Speech,  101. 

Richards,  Wm.  P.,  44. 

Rules  of  Proceedings.  Con 
tinental  Congress,  72. 


Signers  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence. 

Signers  of  the  Articles  of 
Confederation. 

Slave  Trade  Discontinued, 
82. 

Slaves  not  to  be  imported, 
82. 

Smith,  Richard,  Esq..  Con 
tinental  Congress. 

Speech  of  Congress  to  Six 
Nations,  90. 

Standing  army. 

Superior  court. 

Talbot,  Mr.,  3. 

Thompson,  Chas.,  241,  242. 

Tories,  296. 

Vox  Populi,  21. 

Warner,  Seth,  157. 

Chapter  I.,  7. 

Chapter  II.,  67. 

Chapter  III.,  72. 

Chapter  IV.,  96. 

Chapter  V.,  120. 

Chapter  VI.,  321. 

Chapter  VII.,  337. 

Chapter  VIII.,  353, 


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